Introduction:
A. The story is told of a man who entered a high class restaurant, bought a drink and then immediately threw it into the waiter’s face.
1. Quickly grabbing a napkin, he helped the waiter dry his face while he apologized with great remorse.
2. “I'm so sorry,” he said. “I have this compulsion to do this. I fight it, but I can’t stop it. I feel so guilty about it and I don't know what to do about it.”
3. “You had better do something about your problem,” the waiter replied. “You can be sure I'll remember you and will never serve you another drink until you get help.”
4. It was months before the man returned to the restaurant and faced the waiter again.
5. When he asked for a drink, the waiter refused.
6. Then the man explained that he had been seeing a psychiatrist and that his problem was solved.
7. Convinced it was now okay to serve him, the waiter got him a drink.
8. The man immediately took the glass and splashed the drink into the waiter's astonished face.
9. “I thought you were cured,” the shocked waiter screamed.
10. “I am,” said the man. “Now I don't feel guilty when I do it.” (Charles Sell, Unfinished Business, Multnomah, 1989, p. 223)
B. When we do something that is wrong or is harmful to others, we should feel badly about it.
1. Guilt is an important God given emotion.
2. Someone has said, “Guilt is like the red warning light on the dashboard of the car. You can either stop and deal with the trouble, or break out the light.”
3. Guilt is there to try to warn us that there is a problem that needs to be addressed.
4. The goal is not to learn to live with guilt, but to allow guilt to cause us to find the remedy that will remove it, which is repentance and forgiveness.
C. Joseph’s brothers certainly felt guilty for what they had done to Joseph.
1. How should they handle their guilt? What should they do about it?
2. Unfortunately, rather than stop and deal with it appropriately, they had chosen to break out the light on their dashboard.
3. They had buried their guilt.
4. They had tried to cover it up.
5. Their hearts were hardened and their consciences were seared.
6. Let’s see how God used Joseph to activate their seared conscience.
I. The Story
A. As we pick up the story where we left off last week, we remember that a worldwide famine has struck.
1. The situation was dire – people were starving.
2. The only country that had food was Egypt, and the only reason they had food was because God’s hand was with Joseph.
3. God gave Joseph the foresight to prepare the people of Egypt during the seven years of plenty.
4. Now starving people from other countries began coming to Egypt to buy food.
B. The story that has centered on Joseph in Egypt now turns and focuses on Joseph’s family back in Canaan.
1. The Bible says: When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?” 2 He continued, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.” (Gen. 42:1-2)
2. You can just hear the old man chiding his sons.
3. I guess when you reach a certain crotchety old age, you skip the subtlety and get right to the point.
4. “Why are you boys sitting here twiddling your thumbs? Get off your duffs and go to Egypt and bring back some food!”
5. The fact that they just sat their immobilized said something of the on-going guilt they felt.
a. How could they go to Egypt? That’s where their brother was, the one they sold into slavery!
b. What if they were to walk into a city and bump into their brother the slave? Then what?
C. The story continues…the Bible says: Then ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him. (Gen. 42:3-4)
1. One might expect that Jacob would send all of his sons on the journey to bring back as much grain as possible, but we learn that Jacob kept one son behind.
2. Which son did he keep at home? It was Benjamin, the youngest, Rachel’s only remaining son.
3. Keep in mind that Benjamin is not a young man, he is close to 30 years old and probably has a family of his own.
4. The Bible tells us the reason for what Jacob did – He was afraid of losing Benjamin, just as he had lost Joseph.
5. So it appears that favoritism still reigns in Jacob’s family – He hasn’t learned anything after all these years.
6. In essence, Jacob said, “Who cares if something happens to the 10 of you, all I care about is Benjamin.
7. The brothers didn’t seem bothered any more by their father’s favoritism – they remember what happened last time they let themselves be upset by the wrongful treatment.
D. The sons knew that their father was right, they needed food, so they obeyed him and left for Egypt.
1. They had no idea that the brother they had sold into slavery 20 years ago was now the prime minister of Egypt.
2. Joseph had no idea how his family back in Canaan was doing.
a. Was his father still alive?
b. How were his brothers doing?
c. Even though most of the brothers were in their 30s or 40s, the life spans were compromised by danger and limited medical practices, so who knows how many were still alive.
d. And how were they fairing during the famine?
3. All of this sets the stage for what has to be one of the most remarkable and dramatic stories in history.
4. It is a reunion filled with grace like none other.
E. The story continues: So Israel's sons were among those who went to buy grain, for the famine was in the land of Canaan also. Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the one who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph's brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. 7 As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.” (Gen. 42:5-7)
1. Try to imagine the situation for the 10 brothers from Canaan.
2. The surroundings must have been elaborate beyond anything they had ever seen.
a. They were country boys on their first trip to the big city.
3. They were obviously overwhelmed and their initial response was to bow down, which was likely what they saw others who went before them doing.
4. I have often wondered if when Joseph saw the nations coming for food, if he had been looking for them in the faces of the crowd.
5. As soon as he saw his brothers, he recognized them, but they didn’t recognize him.
6. There was no reason for them to recognize him, after all, 20 years had passed (we change a lot in 20 years – have any of you gone to your 20th high school reunion?) and now he looked like an Egyptian, not a rural, Jewish shepherd with a beard.
F. The story continues: Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. 9 Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.” (Gen. 42:8-9)
1. Suddenly, Joseph’s boyhood dreams came flooding back into his mind.
2. He recalled his brothers’ sheaves of wheat bowing before his sheaf, and the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowing down to him.
3. Wow…so that’s what those dreams meant.
4. Joseph must have felt the urge at that moment to reveal himself and remind them of his dreams – those dreams they had mocked and hated him for.
5. Joseph, however, controlled himself and decided to test them a bit.
6. “You are spies…that’s who you are,” he said to them.
G. Look at their reply: “No, my lord,” they answered. “Your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies.”
“No!” he said to them. “You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”
But they replied, “Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”
Joseph said to them, “It is just as I told you: You are spies! 15 And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” 17 And he put them all in custody for three days. (Gen. 42:10-17)
1. Joseph’s probing accusations were designed to bring the truth to the surface.
2. The harder he pressed, the more family details emerged.
3. They finally admit that there were 12 brothers. One was at home and the other was no more.
4. They assume Joseph is dead, but they can’t bring themselves to say it.
5. In that time and culture, suspects were considered guilty until proven innocent, so Joseph proposed a plan to prove their innocence and threw them in jail for three days.
6. One wonders if this was the same cell in which Joseph had spent a couple of years.
H. After three days, Joseph gave them this message, the Bible says: On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: 19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. 20 But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.” This they proceeded to do. (Gen. 42:18-20)
1. So Joseph changed his mind about the plan.
2. Instead of 9 brothers being detained and one being allowed to return home, Joseph required only one to remain behind, while the rest took the needed grain home to feed their families.
3. Joseph explained that the reason he changed his mind was that he feared God.
I. Look at what happened next: They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that's why this distress has come upon us.” Reuben replied, “Didn't I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn't listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood.” 23 They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter. He turned away from them and began to weep, but then turned back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes. (Gen. 42:21-24)
1. For the first time, we learn that after Joseph was thrown in the pit, he pleaded for mercy, but his cries fell upon deaf ears.
2. Now those cries that were buried for 20 years were reawakened.
3. Commentator Walter Brueggemann describes the terrible tyranny of guilt that enslaved these brothers for two decades. He wrote, “They are bound by their initial act against Joseph. The resulting deception of their father lies at the bottom of everything. The brothers have no room in which to act, no energy for imagination, and no possibility of freedom. They are bound by the power of an unforgiving past, immobilized by guilt, and driven by anxiety.” (Walter Brueggemann, Genesis (John Knox, 1982, p. 337)
4. The sweet atmosphere of recognition and remorse was interrupted by someone playing the blame game.
a. Reuben, the firstborn, gave them the proverbial “I told you so.”
b. The blame game always hurts and never helps!
5. We also learn at this point that Joseph had been speaking through an interpreter, and that was another reason why his brothers didn’t recognize him.
6. Little did they know, but that Joseph could understand everything they were saying to each other.
7. What Joseph heard caused him to turn away and weep.
8. After composing himself, Joseph had Simeon bound before their eyes – surely another reminder of their guilty past.
a. How different the look in their eyes as they saw another brother bound and separated from them.
J. Let’s look at one more development in the story before we focus on application.
1. The Bible says: Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to put each man's silver back in his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. After this was done for them, 26 they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left. At the place where they stopped for the night one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of his sack. 28 “My silver has been returned,” he said to his brothers. “Here it is in my sack.”
Their hearts sank and they turned to each other trembling and said, “What is this that God has done to us?” (Gen. 42:25-28)
2. Surprisingly, Joseph sent them home with a generous gift – He gave their money back to them.
3. Not only do they have abundant grain for their families, their traveler’s checks have been returned.
4. The Bible says that their hearts literally “came out of them” and they trembled, united by their collective guilt.
5. Was the money intended to remind them of the money they made off the sale of Joseph?
a. They were returning home another brother short, but with pockets full of silver.
6. Or was this just a way that Joseph would make them all the more uncomfortable about returning to Egypt.
7. How would they be able to prove that they weren’t spies, nor thieves?
8. They asked the all important question: “What is it that God has done to us?”
a. What was God up to? What was God trying to teach them?
9. This is the first time in the entire story that any of Joseph’s brothers have mentioned God.
K. God was certainly trying to get the attention of Joseph’s brothers.
1. The dashboard light was on again.
2. How was God getting their attention? How was he activating their seared consciences?
a. First, by putting them through some trouble and hardship.
b. Second, by giving them visual reminders of their past sins.
c. Third, by an act of grace.
II. The Application
A. What lessons can we learn from this part of the story about guilt and finding our way toward forgiveness and reconciliation?
1. Once our conscience has been reawakened and reactivated, then we must do something about our guilt.
B. The first lesson I hope we will take to heart is the need to do something appropriate about our guilt.
1. You probably remember Edgar Allan Poe’s short story The Telltale Heart.
a. That story is about a murderer who is overcome by his guilt.
b. He couldn’t sleep because he kept hearing the beating heart of his victim buried down in his basement.
c. What he was actually hearing, however, was his own heart, as guilt was causing it to pound in his chest, and reverberate in his skull.
d. His guilt finally led to his confession to the police who had paid a visit to his home.
2. That fictional story reminds me of the true story of Gene Berthiaume.
a. Years ago, the 25 year old walked into the office of the Georgia State Patrol and confessed to robbing two Tennessee banks.
b. The FBI had very few clues to the robberies and had never even heard of Berthiaume.
c. This fellow had no reason to confess except that his conscience bothered him.
1. He told police, “It felt like a big cancer was just burning me up inside. I just couldn’t carry the weight around anymore.”
2. In further discussions, he said that he had been living in a constant state of paranoia.
3. “Every time I saw a police officer, I knew he was looking for me. Whenever I heard a noise, I jumped. Every time I heard a car door open, I’d jump up and look out the window.”
d. Even after he learned that there were no clues that linked him to the robberies, he said he was glad he had confessed.
3. All this reminds me of the experience that King David had following his acts of adultery and murder.
a. David wrote those words we read as the Scripture Reading from Psalm 32:3-4 “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.”
4. Is that the way you are feeling today?
a. Is the guilt of past sins weighing heavily upon you?
b. Is the guilt of a present way of life that you know is not acceptable to the Lord weighing heavily upon you?
5. I hope that you will allow the God-given guilt to cause you to do something appropriate and helpful.
a. Don’t bury the guilt or try to ignore it or cover it up.
b. Allow the guilt to lead you to the cross and to the Savior.
C. The second lesson I hope we will take to heart today is that God has provided a remedy that removes our guilt and sin.
1. Look at the other verses from the Scripture Reading from Psalm 32: Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD” - and you forgave the guilt of my sin. (Ps. 32:1-2, 5)
2. Initially, at our baptism, when we become a Christian, all our sins are washed away (Acts 2:38).
3. Later, when we sin as a Christian, the remedy is confession and repentance.
4. 1 John 1:9 says: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
5. Two verses later, John expands the idea, saying: my dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 Jn. 2:1-2)
6. A man named Lee Roberts tells about something that occurred when he was a camp counselor.
a. Lee was attending a staff meeting while the boys in his cabin got a little rambunctious (this would never happen at Camp Hunt because our campers are always under supervision).
b. Anyhow, the boys got a 10 foot long tree limb and began using it as a javelin.
c. A boy named, Joe, threw the tree limb and it put a big crack into the windshield of Lee’s van.
d. After the meeting, several of the boys came to Lee and told him that Joe needed to talk with him, but they would not tell him why.
e. Eventually, Joe came to Lee and said, “I was had a stick and threw it, and it kinda left a mark in your windshield. I am so sorry.”
f. After inspecting the damage, Lee felt like skinning the kid alive!
g. Fortunately, Lee had enough self-control that he didn’t say or do anything he would later regret.
h. Lee simply told Joe that he would need a little time to find out the best way to handle the situation.
i. After speaking to the camp director, Lee went to Joe, put his hands on Joe’s shoulders and looked squarely into his eyes.
j. He said to him, “Joe, these are the sort of things that insurance is for. Don’t worry. Relax. It’s all taken care of.”
k. At that point, Lee says that he could feel the tension drain from Joe’s body.
7. The good news is that when we have sinned and we come to Jesus confessing and repenting, Jesus puts his hands on our shoulders, looks us squarely in the eyes and says, “These are the sorts of things my blood was shed for. Don’t worry. Relax. It’s all taken care of.”
D. Truly blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
1. Is God activating your conscience today?
2. Do you need to do something appropriate about your guilt?
3. Do you need to come to the Lord confessing and repenting?
4. Let’s not be like Joseph’s brothers who carried their guilt for over 20 years.
5. Let’s not, like David, keep the guilt inside us so that it eats us up from the inside out and drains away all our energy.
6. God has provided a glorious and wonderful remedy for our sin and guilt through the sacrifice of Jesus our Savior.
7. Let us say like King David, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD” - and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
8. Let us each receive God’s remedy and find the joy and freedom forgiveness brings.
Resources:
Joseph: A man of Integrity and Forgiveness, by Charles Swindoll, Word Publishing, 1998
How Do I Deal with Guilt, Sermon by Joel Pankow, SermonCentral.com
Setting the Stage for Reconciliation, Sermon by Brian Morgan, pbcc.org
Dealing with a Seared Conscience, Sermon by John Hamby, SermonCentral.com
An Awakened Conscience, Sermon by Brian Priest
