Title: The Thorough God
Contents
Genesis 42:18-38 A God who is attentive
Today's story is the scene where Joseph parted after meeting his brothers who had come to Egypt to find grain. Although they were brothers who met after 20 years, there were still several steps left to achieve complete unity. Above all, in order for Joseph's dream to come true, he had to meet with Benjamin and with his father Jacob. Therefore, this first reunion leaves a lot of questions and regrets, but at the same time, it carefully shows God's meticulous character who perfectly turns dreams into reality.
First, as soon as Joseph met his brothers and received their bows, he recalled “a dream about them.” After that, as we saw in yesterday's sermon, Joseph deliberately ignores his brothers and makes them spies and brings his brother Benjamin. Joseph's play, which seemed a bit unkind, was actually a confirmation of a God-given dream. In other words, ten brothers came to Egypt and bowed down to Joseph, but in the dream introduced in Genesis 37, eleven brothers and their parents paid their respects to him. So where are the missing brothers and fathers now? Because it did not match prophecy, or out of strong curiosity, Joseph is now severely interrogating his brothers.
First, Joseph put the brothers in prison for three days. And he suggested to them that if you leave only one of the ten brothers in prison and the rest go back and bring Benjamin, then you will believe their words and save their lives. It must be a very unequal deal offered by those with power and power from a completely superior position, but through this Joseph implicitly exposes the sins of his brothers who sold him with a superior position 20 years ago. Looking at verses 21-22, the brothers also remember the crime of selling Joseph 20 years ago in such a terrifying situation and are suffering. In verse 23, Joseph was meticulous and meticulous enough to pretend that he did not understand the languages of his brothers by using an interpreter on purpose.
In this realization and repentance, the drama of God's dream fulfillment is progressing little by little. If the brothers could not remember the past in this situation, or if they had only a reasonable level of concern, it was because Joseph's dream was difficult to come true. The fact that the brothers rediscovered the bundle of money in their sacks and became frightened by the thought of being framed as a thief also became a kind of double track for their dreams to come true. God's plan is being fulfilled even in these very small events or in the most unholy daily life. The important thing is, do you keep remembering the dream the Lord gave you? Are you trusting in God, who has given you dreams and promises even though it is unlikely to come true in reality? that is.
What makes Joseph truly precious is the fact that he was so full of awe of God that he was able to live up to God's dream all the time. While the brothers were imprisoned for three days, Joseph remembered his dream and prayed earnestly to the God he feared. The brothers I met after 20 years, the father I miss, but the covenants that have not yet been completed... In this dilemma, Joseph must have prayed to God. That is why, as recorded in verse 18, I think that after three days I was able to call my brothers and make a bold confession and proposal, saying, “I fear God, and in this way you must preserve your life.” Joseph's meticulous plan is clearly only a cross-section of his daily life that fears God.
On the other hand, Jacob, who appears at the end of today's text, again forgets the promise God has given and lost Joseph. After a time of more severe famine and suffering, Jacob also confessed his faith, “If I lose my children, I will lose them” (43:14). When we forget God's covenant even for a moment and stop asking God's will, we also think that we are not free from this behavior of Jacob.
I hope this morning will be a prayer time to remember the dreams and covenants that God has given us again. Although the current situation seems to have come too far from the dream and covenant of that time, I hope that it will be me and you who trust in God's power and delicacy, who manages history more closely than Joseph, and pray to show that dream concretely. I hope