Peace and Pardon
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
By way of introduction we wish to present to you some succinct statements in Genesis 42:36
As the famine gripped the land, there was but one recourse open to Jacob, and that was to send to Egypt for corn. This entailed certain things obnoxious to the great Patriarch.
First, he had already been deprived of Simeon, whom Egypt's ruler had kept as a hostage against the day of his brother's return.
Secondly, the ruler in Egypt had demanded that Benjamin should be in the party if Jacob's sons came again for corn. Thus it was that Jacob said, "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."
Now, for the time, let us let Jacob drop out of the picture as we study Jacob's words, "All these things are against me."
1. The spirit of murmuring too frequently dominates saints. When the Children of Israel were coming through the great and howling wilderness, water was scarce, meat was a thing of the past, and many difficulties came upon them by the way. The result was that the people began to murmur and to charge Moses with the blame of "their hunger and thirst. God also was under their displeasure.
In I Corinthians we read, "Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer."
2. The spirit of murmuring is often, due to a lack of true knowledge of things. "Now we see through a glass, darkly." Think you that Jacob knew that Joseph was not dead? He knew not. He even had good proof of his death in the blood-sprinkled robe of many colors, and in the words of his sons. He wept and complained where he would have rejoiced, had he only known.
Thus it is with us. If we could turn our clouds about and see their silver lining it would be different. If we knew the end of the Lord, and how all things are working for our good, it would be different. If we could realize that our present afflictions were working out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, it would be different.
Our murmuring lies In our shortsightedness. The things which we believe to be against us may, in truth, have been our chiefest joy had we but known and understood.
Think of the women at the tomb weeping because the stone was gone and Christ was not there. They had been asking "Who shall roll us away the stone?" but when they found the stone gone they fretted. Mary Magdalene even said to the supposed gardener, "If thou have borne Him hence, tell me where thou hast laid Him." When Christ said, "Mary," immediately her forebodings were changed to the most exquisite joy, as she said, "Rabboni." Her ignorance caused her grief, while knowledge gave her joy.
3. The spirit of murmuring is built on our unbelief. It seems to us that all murmuring is due to a lack of trust in God. We fail to believe that He lives to work for us. We believe not in His personal care for His own.
The lack of knowledge and failure to comprehend our difficulties had not caused us to complain if we had possessed perfect trust.
Jacob said, "All these things are against me" when all of it was for him, because He did not have faith in God. God's Name is Jehovah-Jireh, yet we fear He will not provide. His Name is Jehovah-shalom, yet we have no peace. He is our Jehovah-ropheca, yet we have not healing. He is Jehovah-rohi, yet we wander shepherdless and without a guide.
Instead of our extremities leading us into God's opportunities, we allow them to cause us to struggle and despair.
We write to ourselves as well as you. We profess no higher trust than you. We do urge ourselves and you to have faith in God. We do say that all murmuring is black with the frown of God.
I. THE FAMINE IN THE DAYS OF JOSEPH (Genesis 43:1)
1. The famine was Divinely prophesied. We remember reading in Genesis 41:1-57 of Pharaoh's dream of the fat and lean fleshed kine, and of the one stalk with seven full ears, followed by the stalk with thin ears. Joseph had been called in, and he had told Pharaoh, in interpreting the dream, that there were seven years of plenty to come, followed by seven years of famine.
The seven years of plenty had come and gone, and now the seven years of famine were on the earth.
What did this pretold prophecy mean? Did it mean that God was working out a plan of His own, and that He was using all nature to perfect His will? This seems to be the case. However, what was the purpose of God? Did God seek to send the famine after the years of plenty merely to penurize the people and to enrich the king? Or did God do all this for the purpose of vindicating His servant Joseph, by setting him on high in Egypt?
The latter, even the vindication of Joseph, seems to us to be the underlying purpose of God that, including the welfare of Jacob and his sons and their coming down to Joseph.
2. God did watch over Joseph, and He did hear his prayers. We remember how Joseph had been sold to Potiphar, of how Potiphar's wife plotted against him, and caused him to be placed into prison. Even in prison God was with Joseph, and he was placed over the other prisoners. Yet how he must have prayed, again and again, unto the Lord his God for deliverance.
It was not in a moment that God could, or did, work out Joseph's release. God not only took Joseph out of prison, but also He placed Joseph in the place of power over his brethren.
We must keep in mind how Joseph's brethren had sold him to some Ishmaelites, and had reported his decease to Jacob, their father.
We must also keep in mind how God was therefore, impelled by His faithfulness to His own, to punish the wayward brethren on the one hand, and on the other hand to fulfill the dreams which He had given to Joseph in the days of his youth.
God never forsakes His own; nor does He forsake His promises; nor does He fail His saints. He will move Heaven and earth to work out His will.
II. THE MINISTRY OF SUFFERING (Genesis 43:2)
1. The famine forced the sinning sons of Jacob to go to Joseph. The sons knew it not, yet God's net was daily encircling them, and slowly but surely forcing them to make their way to Egypt, and to the discovery of their sin.
Think you that these men would have easily been driven to the feet of the one whom they had so grievously wronged? Nay. Joseph was the last person on earth to whom they had willingly gone. God knew this; therefore He, in His great love, was hedging them in, and shutting them up to but one course. That course led them to Joseph. Oh, that they had willingly repented of their sin toward Joseph and gladly gone on a tour to Egypt, whither the Ishmaelites had taken him, in order to find him!
Alas, alas, too oft men refuse to go to the Saviour until they are driven into His arms by their very need. Let us then not complain at our "famine" when it comes. Whatever comes from the hand of God, comes with ultimate benefactions. Even the seemingly hurtful and destructive things often work out God's will and way in our lives.
2. The famine forced the sinning sons of Jacob to hasten their going to Joseph. The sons even urged their going to Egypt upon Jacob. To whom else could they go? Egypt (and Joseph) only had corn, and corn they must have.
Dear friends, to whom can we go? Christ only has the Bread of Life. If we would live, He only is the Giver of life. There is none other name tinder heaven and given among men whereby we must be saved.
In the hands of Joseph was all they needed, and in his hands alone; thus, to Joseph they made their way. Would that, anew, the sense of need might fall upon the lost, that they might seek the Lord. Even now we hear Him saying, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
Christ pleads, "If. any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink." What say you? Shall we not arise and go to Him, the Bread of Life and to the Water of Life?
"Come to the Saviour, make no delay,
Here, in His Word, He shows us the way";
Come, in your sins no longer delay,
Come, for He calleth for you.
III. HOW SIN ENTAILS OTHERS (Genesis 43:3-4)
1. No man liveth unto himself. Alas, sin always affects others. Even if Satan had whipped the waves into madness merely to engulf the one ship wherein the Lord Jesus lay asleep, there were "other little ships" caught in the same storm. There are always those other little ships. There are father, mother, brother, wife, son, daughter, neighbor, friend, and all others.
Thus we have the words, "If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down." Yes, dear Benjamin, the joy of Jacob's fond heart, had to be a party to the suffering which the sons of Jacob caused.
For their sins, Joseph had suffered many years in prison; years of servitude and sorrow.
For their sins Jacob had aged, and gone sorrowing toward the grave.
For their sins all Egypt, and many lands, were in famine at that very moment.
2. It was our sins that dragged our Lord from Glory and nailed Him to the Tree. He came not only to seek and to save the lost, but to be made sin for them. He bore our shame, our pains, our stripes.
No sinner can stand by the old rugged Cross, and say "The Jews did it." Nor can he say, "The Romans did it," or, "The Father did it, making His soul an offering for sin." All those things are true; yet let the sinner say, "I did it." It was my sin that drove those nails; it was my sin that pierced that side; it was my sin that crowned that head with thorns; it was my sin that made Him cry, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" It was all done by me by my sins.
Shall we seek to cover the sweep of our sins? Shall we think that we alone have suffered for our wrong? God forbid! We may have sown to the wind, yet our sins reap the whirlwind. When Adam sinned, death passed upon all men. Stop and consider: "What shall the harvest be?"
IV. SIN WILL OUT (Genesis 43:5-6)
We have several significant questions before us.
1. Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me? Jacob seemed to feel that he was suffering because of his sons' folly. Where is the sinner that has not felt that everything was against him? He feels he has been wronged. He cries, "Someone hath done this."
Even so it is. Someone, or else ourselves, or perhaps someone and ourselves, has done this. Here we are under the throes of sins, for which we are not, personally, responsible. We have just shown that sin always entails its woes on others. Now we hear the cry of those who suffer for the sins of others.
It was under this awful burden of the sins of others, that Christ cried, "Why hast Thou forsaken Me?" Must the children bear the sins of the father, unto the third and fourth generation? Why? There is a dear babe covered with inherited sores, before he personally knew to do either good or evil? Why?
2. Why did ye tell ye had a brother? The sons said, "The man asked us straitly, * * Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother?" Yes, sin will out. Hearken to Christ as He said to the Samaritan woman, "Go, call thy husband." He knew she had no husband, and that she was living with a man who was not her husband. Yes, He forced her sin to the front. And so did Joseph, and so does God. Shall we think to cover our sins? It cannot be done. God knows it all. No man can hide himself where God cannot find him, and where God cannot command His serpents to bite him.
The years that had passed had by no means annihilated their sin. Those years had been lived by them with their sins ever before them. This we shall discover shortly. Their sins had also been always before the Lord.
Sin in its sowing may seem light; sin in its reaping will prove heavy. Hell itself, to the unregenerate, will be greatly augmented by the memory of one's sins. "Oh, memory, why dost thou not forsake us?" "Son, remember!"
V. THE DOCTRINE OF SUBSTITUTIONARY SECURITY (Genesis 43:8-9)
How considerate it was for Judah to say of Benjamin: "I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever."
1. Jesus Christ has said as much of us who trust in Him. Judah was surety for Benjamin; Christ is surety for us. Hear our Lord saying, "Because I live, ye shall live also." Judah gave Benjamin only the protection of a frail humanity. Christ gives unto us the protection of an all-powerful Deity. No power can take us from His protecting arms. He Himself says: "I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand."
Let us weigh well our security in Him: "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." It seems to us that words could not be made more powerful or more assuring.
2. A vow of security is not conducive of rashness. We mean this: When Judah swore that he would be surety for Benjamin, it by no means made Benjamin want to run away, nor did it gender in his spirit a desire to ingratitude against Judah. To the contrary, the pledge of Judah made Benjamin cling the closer to Judah; and it made him love Judah the more.
Think you that Christ's pledge to us, and our security in Him, can by any means incite us to grieve Him, to break connections with Him, or to seek in any way to separate ourselves from His love and care? This is impossible. Those who use the blessed promise of security in Christ Jesus the Lord, as an excuse for deviltry and sin, have never known saving grace. Christ not only said, "Neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand," but He also said, "My sheep hear My voice, and * * they follow Me."
Inborn in the believer's new nature is an undying loyalty to his Lord.
VI. TAKING BOUNTIFUL GIFTS TO JOSEPH (Genesis 43:11-12)
1. Gifts cannot suffice for an atonement for sin. Jacob said to his sons, "Take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds."
This was all well meant. However, two things are paramount. First, A little of this, and a bit of that, could hardly bear much weight with a man who sat enthroned in Egypt, next to Pharaoh. Secondly, a few paltry gifts could by no means settle the account of their sins against Joseph.
What folly for a sinner to try to secure forgiveness and pardon from God by his own puny gifts. Salvation cannot be bought. In truth, any effort at "gifts" is no more than an effort to belittle grace. The gift of God is eternal life, and all that eternal life includes. All the values of the earth could not pay for one little corner on the streets of gold. How silly, then, must man's paltry "doings" appear to God as a pretense of payment for eternal life.
2. Penance cannot repay for the heartlessness or crime and shame against God. Jacob added, "And take double money in your hand." Beloved, when we stop to weigh the anguish which Christ bore on Calvary because of our sins, let us cease to imagine we can erase the sorrows and the shame of that Cross by a double payment of some lesser debt. No, man stands helpless before God. His mouth is stopped, and he, as guilty, is shut up to grace, and mercy, and love.
Let us then go to God, saying,
"Nothing in my hands I bring,
Simply to Thy Cross I cling."
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast."
VII. A CRY FOR MERCY (Genesis 43:14)
How plaintive is the cry of the aged Patriarch: "And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin."
1. Suppose, for one moment, that Joseph had meted unto his brethren the due reward for their deeds. What then? Remember, Joseph had them in his power. He was no longer the young stripling, against whom they could, with ease, lift up their hand. He was now clothed with autocratic power, and backed by all the legions of Egypt. He knew the wickedness of his brethren. What would he do?
Spiritual meanings break forth at every turn. Christ, in flesh, may have seemed an easy victim to the tyranny of men; but Christ, exalted at the Father's right hand, clothed with all authority and power, is another matter. No hand lifted against Him can prosper. With the breath of His lips He can easily slay the wicked. Suppose that God should deal in justice; not in mercy, and not in grace. Then what?
2. Jacob spoke better than he knew. He said, "And God Almighty give you mercy before the man." If Jacob had known that "the man" was Joseph his son, whom his brethren had cast into the pit and afterward sold to the Ishmaelites; if Jacob had known of the great sufferings that his sons had caused Joseph to undergo, he would have known better the need of the mercy of which he spoke.
Justice was the last thing for those brethren to plead, and it is the last thing for which any sinner should ever plead. We do not want justice, we want mercy. Justice would land us in hell, and its torments. Justice would demand our utter undoing. Linger not, O sinner, near by the mount of the Law, with its lightnings and thunderings, and its great earthquake. The rather fall down at the Cross, with its dying Son of God. Stay not at Sinai with its, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die"; but stay at Calvary, with its, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."
Thank God for the Mercy Seat where sins may be done away.
AN ILLUSTRATION
Thank God for His peace and plenty, "At a missionary meeting on the island of Raratonga, in the Pacific Ocean, an old man rose, and said, 'I have lived during the reign of four kings. In the first we were continually at war, and a fearful season it was. During the reign of the second we were over-taker, with a severe famine, and then we ate rats and grass and wood. During the third we were conquered, and became the peck and prey of the two other settlements of the island. But during the reign of this third king we were visited by another King a great King, a good King, a peaceful King, a King of love, Jesus, the Lord from Heaven. He has gained the victory. He has conquered our hearts; therefore we now have peace and plenty in this world, and hope soon to dwell with Him in Heaven.' 'These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also' (Acts 17:6).