b.
Genesis
42:25- Then Joseph commanded
to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack,
and to give them provision for the way: and thus did he unto them.
·
Acts 8:20 -
But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought
that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
o
By returning
their money, Joseph’s actions demonstrate that the gifts of God cannot be
purchased with money. Salvation is a
gift, the corn represents salvation for Israel
o
Romans 6:23 - For
the wages of sin [is] death; but the
gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
§
What Joseph’s
brothers did to him was worthy of death, but instead he chose to forgive them
and thereby save all Israel
§
Similarly, what
we did to Jesus with our sin was worthy of death, yet He chooses to forgive us.
o
Ephesians
2:8 - For by grace are ye
saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:
§
We cannot save
ourselves, no matter how hard we work, how much money we have or who we know,
it is a gift of God
o
Psalm 3:8
- Salvation [belongeth] unto
the LORD: thy blessing [is] upon thy people. Selah.
·
Acts 4:12 - …
there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved.
·
Titus 2:11 - For
the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men
II.
The brother’s return to Jacob (Genesis 42:26-38)
a.
Genesis
42:26- And they laded their
asses with the corn, and departed thence.
·
No indication of
how many asses or how many bags of corn
·
Could have been a
1 ass per brother and 1 sack per ass or more.
b.
Genesis
42:27- And as one of them
opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for,
behold, it [was] in his sack's mouth.
·
Alludes to the
fact that salvation cannot be purchased, it is a gift
c.
Genesis
42:28- And he said unto his
brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, [it is] even in my sack: and their
heart failed [them], and they were afraid, saying one to another, What [is]
this [that] God hath done unto us?
·
Why were they
afraid? A guilty conscience results in fear.
·
Fear is not of
God, fear is of the adversary and uses our imagination against us to conjure
fear within ourselves.
·
Something good
happens and they tremble in fear, no faith, no trust in their God.
d.
Genesis
42:29- And they came unto
Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan
e.
Genesis
42:30- The man, [who is] the
lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.
·
Joseph was lord
of the land representative of Jesus being Lord of all.
·
Isaiah
66:1 - Thus saith the LORD,
The heaven [is] my throne, and the earth [is] my footstool: where [is] the
house that ye build unto me? and where [is] the place of my rest?
f.
Genesis
42:31- And we said unto him,
We [are] true [men]; we are no spies:
g.
Genesis
42:32- We [be] twelve
brethren, sons of our father; one [is] not, and the youngest [is] this day with
our father in the land of Canaan
h.
Genesis
42:33- And the man, the lord
of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye [are] true [men];
leave one of your brethren [here] with me, and take [food for] the famine of
your households, and be gone:
i.
Genesis
42:34- And bring your
youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye [are] no spies, but [that]
ye [are] true [men: so] will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffick
in the land.
j.
Genesis
42:35- And it came to pass as
they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle of money [was] in
his sack: and when [both] they and their father saw the bundles of money, they
were afraid.
·
Even Jacob was
fearful of the blessing
k.
Genesis
42:36- And Jacob their father
said unto them, Me have ye bereaved [of my children]: Joseph [is] not, and
Simeon [is] not, and ye will take Benjamin [away]: all these things are against
me.
·
Through our ignorance and mistake, and the weakness of
our faith, we often apprehend that to be against us which is really for us. We
are afflicted in body, estate, name, and relations; and we think all these
things are against us, whereas these are really working for us the weight of
glory. Matthew Henry’s Commentary
l.
Genesis
42:37- And Reuben spake unto
his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him
into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.
·
What an offer,
“Dad, if I don’t bring your son back, kill your 2 grandsons” I’m sure that was not a very tempting offer
for Jacob.
·
Its obvious
Reuben has the best intentions in mind, but his offer indicates his zeal is
greater than his intelligence
m.
Genesis
42:38- And he said, My son
shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if
mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my
gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
·
Sometimes fear is
paralyzing…does it make sense to not send Benjamin and guarantee that everyone
dies, or send him with the possibility that the lord of the land is truthful?
·
Sometimes we
irrationally hold onto people or things that we don’t wish to part with, rather
than give them up to the Lord. Examples
could include:
o
Parents and
children
o
Boyfriends and
girlfriends
o
Spouses
o
Siblings
o
Friends
o
2 Peter
3:9 - The Lord is not slack
concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to
us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance.
o
1 Timothy
2:3-4 - For this [is] good
and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be
saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
§
God’s desire is
for all of his people to be saved, we sometimes need to let go and trust God. Trust Him and He will amaze you.
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