Day Eleven A Guilty Conscience is a Powerful Thing Genesis 42 Finally…I am back on schedule! When we last met, Joseph had been put in charge of Egypt’s disaster recovery plan during a seven year time of abundance. He had been frugal, smart, and had listened to God’s warning that these days were numbered and would be followed by a seven year drought. The storehouses were full of grain and Joseph had done all he could to be prepared for the hard times. As is always the case with God, obedience leads to His divine provision. It may not come in the manner you expect, but He is faithful. True to God’s warning, the drought came. Everything dried up and no country was untouched. As the famine spread, everyone came to Egypt to buy grain. Pharaoh’s response was a wise one. “Go see Joseph. He will tell you what to do.” If my math is correct, thirteen years had passed from Joseph’s initial betrayal by his brothers to the time Pharaoh put him in charge. Then seven more years of abundance have passed, so it appears twenty years later, Joseph has gone from betrayed brother, imprisoned slave, to a highly esteemed official for Pharaoh. So I wonder what has become of the brothers who so callously left him in the hands of slave traders? Let’s unpack this slowly….there’s a lot in these verses. Fast forward to the famine and Chapter 42. It starts out with Jacob feeling the pressure of the famine. “Don’t just sit here,” he says to his sons. “Go to Egypt and by some food so we don’t starve to death!” There is nothing quite like a threat of starvation or a material crisis to get our attention is there? I can’t tell you how many times God has used my checkbook to get my attention, and I am sure you all have similar stories. Staying behind and starving wasn’t an option. Therefore, ten of them went, but Joseph wouldn’t let his youngest, Benjamin go for fear something might happen to him. “Why are you looking at each other like that?” he asks his sons. I am left with the impression that Jacob was completely in tune with their guilty reaction. When translated, the phrase means “to look strongly at”. Face it, we parents know our kids and Jacob would have known his boys. It didn’t take much to raise his suspicion. I think that’s one of the reasons he said that Benjamin couldn’t go. The other is that they had let him down by not protecting Joseph. There was no way he would entrust his youngest son to them again. So, reluctantly, the ten of them make their way to Egypt. First of all, I imagine when the brothers heard the word “Egypt” all of their hearts stood still for a moment. It was a pretty fair assumption when they sold Joseph that he would end up in Egypt, the heart of slave trading. It was a fast growing, industrious region with the financial backing to pay top dollar for a healthy, strong, young slave. I’m sure that going there held a sense of dread and fear, followed by a renewed, acute awareness of just what they had done. I don’t know about you, but my rationalizations can lull my guilty conscience to sleep. However, once it has been recalled, sleep becomes a distant memory. Have you ever found yourself living with the guilt of words or actions that could not be rectified or atoned for? I told you earlier, the sweet taste of revenge is short lived, but the bitter after taste of guilt remains for years. I am certain no amount of cleansing was going to take away that briny taste of reality. They had sold their brother and caused their father horrendous pain. Best case scenario…Joseph is a 37 year old slave. Worst case scenario. He is dead. Regardless, they are collectively responsible and have had 20 years to live with it. The pain of unrepented sin is indescribable. You would give anything to turn back the hands of time and change it, but you can’t. So the guilt festers in your heart and makes you sick in your spirit. It becomes contagious. The bitterness grows over a calloused heart and the vines of pain spread to those around you like kudzu. Before long everyone is covered in the hurt. You become the worst version of yourself. Then comes rationalization and denial. My grandmother used to say “Eventually everyone’s bill comes due.” You have to face your consequences eventually, if not here then when you face God. With each passing day the reality of what you’ve done mixes with the fear of atonement, creating a poisonous concoction which erodes your heart. Welcome to a self-dug pit folks. Once you are wakened by the poison of self-loathing and regret, you lack the strength or the will to climb out. God to the rescue! If you confess to Him, turn from your sin, and acknowledge your weakness, He does the supernatural. He lifts you up, restores you and forgives you. The peace and relief wash the poison away, kill the vines of misery and joy returns to its rightful owner….you! Sometimes the only way to arrive at true repentance is through a guilty conscience. Also, did you notice that Jacob wouldn’t let Benjamin go with them? Doesn’t this smack a little bit of bitterness as well? I am pretty certain that since they didn’t take care of Joseph, there was no way he was going to entrust Benjamin with them. I have to wonder if he didn’t remind them daily of how they had let him down and how he suffered as a result. It’s kind of ironic isn’t it? Their efforts to eliminate Joseph in order to have their father’s full attention completely backfired. Now not only did he still love him more in death than them, they had to live with the rejection and separation from Jacob because he blamed them for his death. Verse 6 tells us that the brothers went to Egypt and as we know, had to meet with Joseph for their rations. When they approached him, they bowed before him, faces to the ground in honor. They didn’t recognize him at all, (remember he was 17 when they last saw him), but he certainly knew them. How could he ever forget their faces? Not only because they were his brothers, but because they were the ones who caused you such pain and suffering? I would think they were forever etched in his mind. Does the scene in verse 6 of the brothers bowing before him ring familiar to you? It should. It is exactly what God promised Joseph would happen. Do you remember Joseph’s dreams? Specifically the one about the wheat stalks bowing before him? God keeps His promises…ALWAYS. What He had promised Joseph 20 years ago in a dream was now coming true. Again..irony is at work in the brothers’ lives. One of the purposes of killing Joseph was to defeat his dreams and rob him of his credibility and discount God’s power in his life. Now, through a drought and famine, God is going to show them all just exactly what and who they were dealing with. One of my favorite characteristics of God is His ability to use man’s evil actions to further His kingdom work. He will never condone, abide with, or accept evil. It’s not possible for Him to do that, but He will take it, dismantle it and use it to restore us and bring glory to Himself. His goodness is greater than any evil that could or will ever be. His ability to right our wrongs is supernatural and we should hit our knees in gratitude for it every day. Has there been a time in your life when evil fell upon you or someone you love and you watched God bring good from it? How did you feel? Could you even contain your gratitude and joy? If you are going through a famine right now, take heart. God is your provider. God is your fortress in times of trouble and your shelter from the storms of life. He hears you and knows your needs. He sees your pain and is standing by to bring good from it. Stays tuned for Day 12 and let’s see how Joseph reacts to his brothers. I think you’ll be surprised!
Posted on: Tue, 24 Sep 2013 19:24:53 +0000