Genesis 44

The sons of Jacob have enjoyed a meal together for the first time in years. Even Joseph is with them, though the other brothers are not aware of this fact yet. The divine drama continues now. Their money is again secretly hidden in the sacks of Jacob's son, but now Joseph has ordered that one very valuable cup be put into Benjamin's sack. Joseph will use this to make it appear that Benjamin is a thief. This is what it will take to bring about something beautiful that the Lord wants us to learn as we read this account today.

When the brothers set off in their journey, they have no inkling of what is about to take place. As the steward of Joseph's house catches up with the men and makes his master's accusation, the brothers are so sure that none of them have stolen anything that they say, “Whichever of your servants is found with it shall die, and we also will be my lord's servants.”

The steward restates and reduces the penalty that was suggested: “Let it be as you say: he who is found with it shall be my servant, and the rest of you shall be innocent.” No one is going to die here, and only the one who has stolen something, the apparent guilty party, will be held responsible. They all quickly lower their sacks so that they can be searched and vindicated. And then it happens. Joseph's valuable silver cup is found in Benjamin's sack. Of course it is. It was planted there, but the brothers don't know that. They are distraught, and all of them return to the city.

It is Judah who must now step forward. It is the ancestor of Jesus who must bring the good word before Israel's secret son, Joseph. He hears the accusation from the lips of the great Egyptian leader himself, the man who is actually the brother they sold into slavery so long ago. Joseph says, “What deed is this that you have done?”

Judah must speak. He acknowledges the fact that the cup has been found in one man's sack, but he offers them all as servants. Joseph will not have it. “Only the man in whose hand the cup was found shall be my servant. But as for you, go up in peace to your father.”

Now Judah must speak forthrightly. He must make the case before Joseph that he, Judah, should be taken prisoner as a substitute for Benjamin. Judah must fulfill the pledge that he made to his father, Jacob. This was the condition upon which Jacob let Benjamin travel to Egypt with the others, that Judah would pay the price if Benjamin's life were in danger.

Judah is true to that pledge. He steps forward as an honest man. He does not sacrifice Benjamin and then make up a tearful lie to his father. Judah, with all of his own messy history of his involvement in the selling of Joseph; Judah, who fathered two children through the deception of a woman he thought was a prostitute, a woman he later acknowledged to be more righteous than he; Judah, who knows what it is to grieve the loss of sons; this Judah does not spare his own life. He speaks the truth to save his brother Benjamin from lifelong servitude and to protect his father Jacob from another grief that might have been his death. He steps forward as the appointed substitute. He serves, after all his strange history, as an honest man.

It is worth noting that concerning the earlier matter of what the men did to Joseph, Judah's words of repentance still seem to be lacking. If Joseph's only interest was to vindicate himself in that cruelty and deception, he might not have been satisfied. Judah quotes Jacob well enough: “One left me, and I said, 'Surely he has been torn to pieces,' and I have never seen him since.” That is true, in a way. Yet Judah knows better than that, and he just passes on his father's faulty conclusion based on the ugly deception that Jacob's sons hoisted upon him. It would have been a fuller repentance if he had really come clean. He could have said something to Joseph like what the brothers had said privately at the time of their first trip to Egypt: “We are guilty concerning our brother, Joseph, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us. We sinned against our brother Joseph, and now there comes a reckoning for his blood.” That matter is still not fully dealt with. Isn't it often that way with us and our old sins? These men will still be in fear concerning that matter when their father Jacob dies. See Genesis 50.

But self-vindication and the settling of old scores are not Joseph's primary concerns. He loves his brothers who had so abused him, and he loves God. What moves the heart of Joseph is the present honesty of Judah as he comes to him in the current situation. Judah is willing to give his life so that Benjamin and Jacob will live. This display of sacrificial love is powerful before the heart of God, and God rules. God is the one who is working this all for good.

You may wonder about your repentance concerning the sins of your past, thinking that perhaps you in part conceal and in part reveal the truth before God. You may not even know how full and honest your repentance is regarding what once was. It would be good to be free of all the old chains in every conceivable way. As God grants you the gift of repentance, walk in it. But in view of His mercies to you in Christ Jesus, our Lord, walk in honesty today as one who is already a new creature in Christ.

The sacrificial love of Jesus moves the heart of God. That is why we live. Move the heart of the Lord by allowing the Spirit of Christ to lead you to be a living and honest sacrifice today, being true to your pledge that this Jesus, who gave Himself for you, is your Lord.