The Brothers Bring Benjamin

If you have your Bible, I want to invite you to turn with me to the book of Beginnings, Genesis chapter 43 Joseph comes from a broken family.

Joseph comes from a dysfunctional family and so Joseph is going to be used of God in a tremendous way to to bring this dysfunctional family together The power of God is going to be evidenced in Joseph's life because of that he will extend Grace and mercy to his brothers in so doing that What happens is that he will be able to enjoy the peace of God along with his brothers God wants to use you in your dysfunctional family Every one of you are from a dysfunctional family believe it or not some probably a little bit more dysfunctional than others But nonetheless God wants to use you in your family to magnify his power That through your life grace and mercy will be extended so that peace will be enjoyed in your family God wants to use you just like he used Joseph But as God would teach them to trust him So God wants to teach you to trust him to depend upon him for everything the brothers in Genesis 43 Bring Benjamin to Joseph.

Let's read it verse number one. Now the famine was severe in the land So it came about when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt Their father said to them go back by us a little food Judah spoke to him saying however, however saying the man solemnly warned us You should not see my face unless your brother is with you if you send our brother with us We will go down and buy you food But if you do not send him we will not go down for the man said to us You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you Then Israel said why did you treat me so badly by telling the man whether you still had another brother?

But they said the man questioned particularly about us and our relative saying is your father still alive? Have you another brother? So we answered his questions. Could we possibly know that he would say bring your brother down and Judah said to his father Israel Send the lad with me and we will arise and go that we may live and not die We as well as you and our little ones I myself will be surety for him You may hold me responsible for him If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you then let me bear the blame before you forever For if we had not delayed surely by now we could have returned twice Then the father Israel said to them if it must be so then do this take some of the best products of the land in your bags and carry down to the man as a present a little bomb and a little honey aromatic gum and myrrh pistachio nuts and almonds and Take double the money in your hand and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks Perhaps it was a mistake Take your brother also And arise returned it to the man and may God Almighty grant you compassion in the sight of the man that he may release to you your other brother and Benjamin as for me if I am bereaved of my children I am bereaved So the men took this present and they took double the money in their hand and Benjamin Then they arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph When Joseph saw Benjamin with them He said to his house steward Bring them in into the house and slay an animal and make ready for the men are to dine with me at noon So the man did as Joseph said and brought them in to Joseph's house Now the men were afraid Because they were brought to Joseph's house and they said it is because of the money That was returned in our sacks the first time that we are being brought in That he may seek occasion against us and fall upon us and take us for slaves with our donkeys So they came near to Joseph's house steward and Spoke to him at the entrance of the house and said oh my lord We indeed came down the first time to buy food and it came about when we came to the lodging place that we opened our Sacks and behold each man's money was in the mouth of a sack our money in full So we have brought it back in our hand.

We have also brought down other money in our hand to buy food We do not know who put our money in our sacks And he said be at ease or be at peace Do not be afraid Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks I Had your money Then he brought Simeon out to them Then the man brought the men into Joseph's house and and gave them water and they and they washed their feet and he gave their donkeys fodder So they prepared the present for Joseph's coming at noon For they had heard that they were to eat a meal there When Joseph came home They brought into the house to him the present which was in their hand and bowed to the ground before him Then he asked them about their welfare and said is your old father.

Well of whom you spoke. Is he still alive? And they said your your your servant our father as well He is still alive and they bowed down in homage And he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin his mother's son He said is this your youngest brother of whom you spoke to me? and he said May God be gracious to you my son and Joseph hurried out for he was deeply stirred over his brother He sought a place to weep and he entered his chamber and wept there Then he washed his face and came out They controlled himself and said serve the meal So they served him by himself and then by themselves and the Egyptians who ate with them by themselves Because the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews for that is loathsome to the Egyptians Now they were seated before him the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth And the men looked at one another in astonishment And he took portions to them from his own table the Benjamins portion was five times as much as any of theirs So they feasted and drank freely with him Again we we note that that God is is doing a a marvelous marvelous work But three things I want you to see as we review this story with you You need to be caught up to speed and I'm not gonna give you all the details But if you haven't been with us, it's important for you to know what's going on here If you have been with us, it's always good for us to review So we are all caught up to speed on the same page three things.

I want you to see number one. The famine Was severe that's very evident from verse number one The famine was severe and the famine was severe over all the earth and This famine would play an intricate part in the lives of the nation of Israel Why because God was using a tragedy to bring the brothers?

together Pharaoh had had a dream and Joseph was able to interpret that dream and upon interpreting that dream Pharaoh made Joseph high man in his kingdom so it's so that all the people in all the land had to come to Joseph in order to to obtain food because Joseph not only accurately interpreted the dream but told Pharaoh what he needed to do to make sure there was enough food to last the seven years of the famine But yet God was using that famine He was going to use that that that time of affliction to bring this family together Then what the psalmist said in Psalm 119 verse number 75 in faithfulness Thou hast afflicted me God was faithful during the time of the famine and God was going to demonstrate his faithfulness to to these boys that they might understand What what God was doing?

You see God was using this famine to bring all of them to Egypt that they might be able to be restored as a family that this nation might eventually be put into Egyptian bondage and Grow to a great number of people Millions of people because God had promised that but God was orchestrating the events of life to bring about his purposes in the life of this family and so the famine was Severe the second thing I want you to notice is that the family the family was scared.

They were scared They were trembling But there's going to be a change as you go through chapter 43 Because Jacob is going to change his whole view is going to change why? Because God is working in dad's life as well He's working in the whole family's life And so we go from the from the famine that was severe From the family that was scared to a father who becomes sensitive to the leading of God in his life And how do we know that we know the last time with you that that remember in chapter 42 that Jacob is called Jacob but I checked at 43 is called what?

Israel now you need to note that because remember that when when Abrams name was changed to Abraham He was never called Abram again He was always called Abraham right but not so with Jacob when Jacob is operating in the flesh He's called Jacob, but when he begins to operate under the realm of the power of God. He's called Israel That's important to note, but God was doing a work in Jacob's life a great work in his life So you see the name change to Israel because God is working said God will work in and through him that God would strive With this man, and he would learn to depend upon His God Judah's changing to is that God was changing this man?

Dramatically for once he was self-serving now He is willing to surrender his life on behalf of Benjamin Judas come a long way. It's not because of Judah It's because of the the power of God working in his life all that to say is that this father is now becoming Sensitive and really understanding his job to lead as a patriarch in the family Jacob now has come to the point where he needs to be why if I lose Benjamin if I lose Simeon I've already lost Joseph if I had to lose them all let it be let it be you see Jacob Jacob was holding on Strongly with all that he had to Benjamin Benjamin was his last tie to Rachel Rachel was dead in his mind Joseph was dead He wasn't about to let that precious boy go and God had to pry his fingers loose from that boy So Jacob would learn to depend upon God and rely upon his God and trust his God You see it's easy for us to read the story.

We know how it all turns out Benjamin lives Simeon lives They all come together and Joseph provides a home for them It's one big happy family at the end of Genesis chapter 50, but right now Jacob is wrestling. He's struggling He's hurting, but he's becoming very sensitive to the leading of God and maybe that's where you're at today There's something you're holding on to that. You just don't want to let go it is such Important to you so important so valuable to you. It's taking precedence over your God Benjamin had taken precedence over over the God of Israel and he had to realize that and so for the first time now in maybe Many years he would pray with the sons and may God Almighty Grant you mercy God's gonna go with you.

God's going to lead you and if God wills it you'll all survive But if he doesn't if I'm bereaved I am bereaved whatever God wants. That's where God wants all of us That's where God wants you and that's a very important lesson. That's all review by the way. Okay, we have to speed Next point number two we're turned to the story four things I want you to see the very first thing I want you to see is the concern of the brothers they get there And what's the Bible say?

The Bible says Joseph sees them coming He tells the steward to make ready because we're gonna have a meal at my house And the Bible says the men verse 18 were afraid because they were brought to Joseph's house They were afraid to that.

They were so concerned so concerned And so when when they they see the steward, I love what they do You know, whenever you feel guilty about something you begin to babble and ramble on right and these guys begin to battle and ramble Hey, you know when we got back to her house, we had money our sacks. We didn't put it there We don't know how it got there. And so we brought more money back with us But we brought this money back to and and so we saw that, you know We didn't steal anything and it's so important because I want you to see number two the comments by the steward They are so concerned about their lives.

They could so concerned about what's gonna happen to them They haven't seen Simeon and I want you to see the comments by the steward says in verse number 23 be at peace Be at ease, be at peace Do not be afraid how many times have we told you about you know When you're afraid and someone comes to you and says, oh don't be afraid we say well that does us a lot of good Of course, I'm afraid my life's at stake but listen to what he says. This is a steward. This is not Joseph This tells us a couple of things it tells us that this steward has a change of heart This Egyptian steward has been impacted by the life of Joseph Listen to what he says your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks He says shalom the Hebrew peace Elohim the one God your God the God of your father is the one who has given you the treasure in your sacks You see this Egyptian steward Recognized the fact that it was their God who was in charge and as they were looking horizontal He was looking vertical and he was trying to get them to see their God at work in their lives Isn't that good to know you see this man's life had been impacted by Joseph either He had been converted to the God of Joseph or he had been so Influenced by Joseph's God that all he could see was how Joseph's God was operating in the lives of these boys Joseph had tremendous impact Joseph had a tremendous testimony for the Living God and then it says what he says I had your money then he brought Simeon out to them So he gets them to look vertically next thing, you know, he brings Simeon out now They're now they're reunited with Simeon but it goes way beyond that because look what happens then the man brought the men into Joseph's house and gave them water and they Washed their feet and he gave their donkeys fodder.

What is going on here? We're able to wash our feet Really cleaned up. Our donkeys are fed. What is happening? God's doing a work and they don't even know it yet, but God's at work Look what it says in in verse number 26 before that Remember, they expected the worst and they got the best that good they expected to die and not only they are alive But they're really living which leads us to our confrontation with Joseph. That's point number three when Joseph came home They brought into the house to him the president which was in their hand and what they bowed to the ground Before him then again in verse number 28 and they bowed down in homage Just like he had dreamed way back in Genesis chapter 37 everything was happening just exactly as God decided to the emotions in this man are beginning to swell as we will see in a moment and so What happens he sees the Word of God being fulfilled before his life and he wants to know your father You spoke to me about how was he doing?

Is he alive? Oh, yes. Yes our father Your servant is still alive. He's doing well. It is this brother Benjamin, ah It's been over 20 years since he's seen Benjamin Benjamin's grown from a young boy to a young man and Joseph says these words may God be gracious to you my Son and he can't contain himself. He begins to weep So he flees the room goes off into a private chamber and so he's able to compose himself. Oh the emotions have swelled in this man's life He gains his composure He comes back out The fourth thing I want you to see is a communion at the table He sits him down in a very significant order What's the Bible say?

From the firstborn to the youngest do you know that there are thirty nine million 917,000 different ways you can see 11 people And he sits them in perfect order from the oldest to the youngest and the Bible says that the boys were absolutely astonished How did he do that?

Who is this guy? How does he know to do that Out of your mind that as as Joseph is that that great type of Christ in the Old Testament? God knows everything about our lives, doesn't he? There's nothing he doesn't know because he's our mission And they would eat together at Joseph's table Hebrews don't eat with Egyptians But isn't that just like our Lord? Who takes sinners and sits him down at his table and dines with them? Because he has saved their souls There are some revelations here. You need to see there are four of them.

I want to give them to you before we leave They all deal with the character of God two of them in the prayer of Jacob two of them in the encounter with Joseph one deals with the the power of God for Jacob would call God the Almighty One else should I God is all-powerful And when you recognize the power of God you're able to do whatever God designs for you Jacob learned that lesson slowly, but he learned it but he refers to the power of Almighty God Jesus Christ is called the Almighty in Revelation 1, right?

He's called the mighty God and Isaiah chapter 9 over that but I want you to notice something listen to Psalm 68 verse number 35 Oh God thou art awesome from my sanctuary the God of Israel himself gives strength and power to the People because God is almighty because God is all-powerful He gives power and strength to his people God wants you to be able to experience his power in your life every single day But the Bible says that God gives strength to his people This is important because some of you today saying you know what?

I don't I don't feel the power of God in my life I don't experience the power of God in my life. I'm a child of God How come I don't sense God's power working in and through my life? That's a good question. That's a good question I'm gonna ask that question for you. The Bible is is very clear to us about power belonging to God alone Second Corinthians 16 9 says this that God Loves to strengthen the heart of those admitted to him the eyes of the Lord Will to go to and fro throughout the earth searching for those whose hearts are committed to him that he might strengthen their lives Let me tell you something if you're not committed to Christ you won't experience the power of God in your life He strengthens those whose hearts are committed to him, right?

Remember Paul and second before verses 17 and 18 when everybody deserted him at his first offense. He says but God Strengthened me. Let me read to you what he says because this helps you understand how to experience the power of God in your life He says this but the Lord verse 16 at my first offense No one supported me, but all deserted me may it not be counted against them, but the Lord stood with me and strengthened me Ready strengthened me in order that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished and that all the Gentiles might hear And I was delivered out of the lion's mouth Let me tell you something God's power comes to those who are committed to him in order that they might communicate Him to a lost world.

That's how you obtain the power of God If you're not committed to God enough to communicate God to a lost world Guess what? You will experience power of God working in your life That's how it happens You will you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you that you might be what my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in Judea the uttermost parts of the earth, right? But the power of God is associated with communicating the concept of God to a lost world And if you're not committed to doing that God says I'm not gonna strengthen you to serve your own purposes to serve your own desires I'm going to strengthen you through that you you might fulfill my purposes.

That is so important read the Bible throughout the Bible What do you see you see people whose lives are committed to God and they were committed to God in such a way that they would Do whatever God asked him to do because God wants to use you as his mouthpiece God's not gonna empower you to do whatever it is. You want to do, right? That's why Paul says I asked for God to remove my thorn in the flesh. I did he's the Almighty God He's the all-powerful God. He can do anything he wants. I I got this thorn in the flesh We don't know what it is.

Whether it was an eye disease whether it was a physical ailment We don't know exactly what that thorn in the flesh was All we know is that Paul had it and Paul says I beseech the Lord three times God remove this from me take it from me and God said what no my grace is sufficient for thee For my power is made perfect in your weakness And Paul said look I want to escape the thorn and God said what I want you to experience the thorn And God says I'm gonna give you power so that in the midst of that experience you can endure the thorn Because once you endure the thorn you will experience my power and then you will understand what it means to enjoy my power Because Paul would say these words in 2nd Corinthians 12 verse number 9.

He says Most gladly therefore I will rather boast about my weaknesses that the power of Christ may dwell in Me therefore.

I am well content with weaknesses insults distresses Persecutions difficulties for Christ's sake for when I am weak that I am strong. It's for Christ's sake. It's all about Christ And God wants to empower you But God's going to empower those as he looks over the earth and sees those who are committed to him and those He will empower in order that they might better communicate him because God wants to use you to fulfill his purposes He's not gonna empower you to fulfill your purposes. He's gonna empower you to fulfill his Purposes see that that's the power of God moving the power of God to the to the mercy of God And Jacob would pray for that too, right that God's mercy would be upon them Listen without God's mercy.

We can't make it from day to day, right? We need the mercy of God the loving kindness of God Psalm 136 talks about how the mercy the loving kindness of God endures forever Our mercy is not something that God has Mercy is something that God is right and therefore he extends mercy to his children and therefore he is that merciful and faithful high priest who Beckons us to beseech him to come to him to go to the throne of grace Why because there you find that merciful and faithful high priest and as Jacob would realize That without God's mercy His children would die.

His life would be a failure So too we should recognize the fact that God in a sovereign plan Extends his mercy to his people that we might be able to experience the grace of God Because you realize that Joseph says to Benjamin may God Be gracious to you. Isn't that good? May God be gracious to you The steward would say to the boys these words Be at peace Be at peace. You could be at peace if you recognize your God's in control, right? And in the steward realized that they were all afraid but be at peace.

He's the God of peace Christ is called the Prince of Peace. It's a spirit that imparts peace Right the fruit of the Spirit grace is fine and that peace of God the mercy of God the power of God the grace of God That's what Genesis 43 is about It's about God and how he works in the lives of people think of Judah Judah a man who rebelled against his father's authority a man who rebelled against God's authority a man who committed incest with his daughter-in-law a Man who was rebellious a man who sinned against his God and what did God do God chose him?

For through the line of Judah would come the Messiah That's the grace of God, right? God's grace being dispensed upon a man who was worthless But God does those things You see God's grace can change anybody, right? God's grace and God's mercy can can take a person from where he is today and make him what God wants to be tomorrow And that's what God wants to do with you A simple story about the brothers bringing Benjamin to Joseph is a story that tells us about the power of God The peace of God the grace of God and the mercy of God Because in all of our dysfunctional families without God's power we can extend his grace and mercy If we can't do that Then we can't enjoy his peace.

Can we? That's what God has for you, that's what God wants to do in your life What's let him do that? If you're committed to Communicating your God in your family as Joseph was Then what will happen God will use you in a mighty powerful way To demonstrate his love his grace his mercy and his peace Let's pray