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I have a husband on camera. Yeah, I was just going to say. No, I don't want to. I'm going to get you a game set. I want you to have a game set. Yeah, I'm going to get you a game set. I don't know where it is. Okay, I'm going to get you a game set. I'm just going to get you one more time. Please, please, please. Like a little one. Y. M. V. I. C. O. N. O. P. H. V. V. P. T. T. T. O. I. V. I. V. M. K. G. T. M. V. M. R. Welcome to Straight Paths Baptist Church, if you could please find our seats and rip our hymnals, the song number 413, we'll be singing the song number 413, stand up stand up for Jesus, again that is song number 413, take it out on the first, stand up stand up for Jesus, he's the use of the cross, and I his royal manager, in most not so far lost, from victory unto victory, his glory shall be he, till every foe is winning, and what song number 413, stand up stand up for Jesus, the truth may call away, for to through the mighty conflict in this his glorious land, he that our men now serve him, against the hunger for the world, and through his rise with danger, and strength and strength all at once, stand up stand up for Jesus, stand with his strength alone, we are the flesh will fail you, he cannot trust your God, put on the gospel on the ground, we're watching unto him, and when he calls for danger, he never wants to fail you. Good singing for that, would you pray for us? Amen. All right, please turn your hymnals to song number 372. Sing it out for us. Sing it out for us. Sing it out. Amen. All right, well it's good to see everybody out tonight at Street Pass Baptist Church. If you need a bulletin, go ahead and slip up your hand. One will be brought to you. As always, the service times are there on the back. We'll be back this Sunday at 10 30 a.m. again at 5 30 p.m. tonight. We're in the book of Genesis, chapter number 42. There's the churchwide soul winning below that, as well as some other numerics. Don't forget we have the Thanksgiving potluck dinner coming up for those that would like to take advantage of that. I understand folks have family and things like that, but some of us don't, so we're going to be getting together as a church family on that day. If you'd like to join us, you're more than welcome to do so. And again, I'll have more details to these specific times, but probably, you know, later in the afternoon is when I'd plan on doing that so it kind of rolls into the evening service. And that's really it for announcements, so let's just go ahead and quickly count up the soul winning going back to Monday, if anybody has anything from Monday to report, or Tuesday, Wednesday, or today. All right, we'll go ahead and sing one more song before we begin the preaching tonight. If you'd please grab your windows and turn to song number 65. Singing song number 65, just over in the glory land, give it a song number 65. Sing it out to the king of kings all of us. Singing song number 65, just over in the glory land. What I long to be, what I see, what I see, just over in the glory land. Just over in the glory land of the Lord. The happy angel, just over in the glory land. Just over in the glory land we're with. The mighty Lord's cross, just over in the glory land. I am on my way to redemption's end. Just over in the glory land, get to sing God's praises for me. Just over in the glory land. Just over in the glory land I'll join. The happy angel, just over in the glory land. Just over in the glory land we're with. The mighty Lord's cross, just over in the glory land. What a joyful thought the Lord has made, just over in the glory land. Let the King receive his forever word, just over in the glory land. Just over in the glory land I'll join. The happy angel, just over in the glory land. Just over in the glory land we're with. The mighty Lord's cross, just over in the glory land. What a joyful thought the Lord has made, just over in the glory land. What a joyful thought the Lord has made, just over in the glory land. Just over in the glory land I'll join. The happy angel, just over in the glory land. Just over in the glory land we're with. The mighty Lord's cross, just over in the glory land. We'll sing it at this time, the offering play will go around. As the offering play goes around, follow along with Brother Gabriel as he reads to us Genesis 42. Again, that is Genesis chapter number 42. Genesis 42. Verse 1, the Bible reads, Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do you look one upon another? And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt. Get ye down at dinner, and buy for us a fence, that we may live, not die. And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt, but vegging at Joseph's brother, Jacob said not with his brethren. For he said, Let's pray a venture, and this ship will follow. And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came, whose family was in the land of Canaan. And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people in the land. And Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him, with their faces to the earth. And Joseph saw his brother, and he knew them, that he made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them. And he said unto them, Whence come you? And they said, From the land of Canaan, to buy food. And Joseph knew his brother, and they knew not him. And Joseph remembered the dream which he dreamed of, and said unto them, You are spies, to see the nakedness of the land, and you come. And they said unto them, Nay, my lord, but to buy food, and thy servants come. We are all one man's sons, and we are true men, thy servants are no spies. And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land, and you come. And they said, I serve unto twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. And behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not. And Joseph said unto them, That as it is, that I spake unto you, say, and you are spies. Hereby shall ye be proved, by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither. Send with you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words will be proved, whether they be any truth in you, or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies. And he put them all in war, three days. And Joseph said unto them, Third day, this do we live, for I fear God. May thee be true, that one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison. Go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses, but bring your youngest brother unto me. So shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so. And they said unto another, We are very, verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he was sawed us, and we would not hear. Therefore is this distress upon us. And Reuben answered them, saying, Say again unto you, saying, Do not sin against a child, and ye would not hear. Therefore, behold, also his blood is required. And they knew not that Joseph understood them, for he spake unto them by an interpreter. And he turned himself about from them, and wept. He returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simon, and bound them before their eyes. And Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into a sack, and to give and provision to the way, and thus did he unto them. And they laid their asses with the corn, and the part of dents, and as one of them opened his sack, to give his ass provably, in the end, he espied his money, and behold, it was in the sack's mouth. And he said unto his brother, The money is restored, and lo, it is even in my sack, with their heart failing. And they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this, that God hath done unto us? And they came unto Jacob their father, as the latter came, and told him, All that but fell unto him was Sam, the man, who is the lord of the land, and brought him to us, and took us for spies of the country. And we said unto them, Your true men, there are no spies, you be twelve brethren, sons of our father, one is not, and the youngest is this day, with our father in the land of Canaan, and the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know, that your true men leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food to the family of your household, and God, and bring your youngest brother unto you, and then shall I know that you are no spies, but you are a true man, and I shall deliver you your brother, and you shall traffic in the land. And it came to pass, as they emptied their sacks, that behold every man's bundle of money was in the sack, and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have you bereaved my children, Joseph is not, Simeon is not, and you will take Benjamin away, all these things are against you. And Reuben spake unto his father, Sam, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee, deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again. And he said, my son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. But this should be followed by the way in which you go, and shall you bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. That's prayer. The early fathers, thank you for this time to be gathered to be able to hear your word, and to make you feel passionate with your spirit, to bring it boldly unto us, and help us to receive and apply and love you to your sons and we pray, Amen. Amen, so Genesis 30, or excuse me, 43, we will be in Genesis 37 a little bit, we will be referring back to that. Genesis 42 tonight, I got my twos and threes all mixed up there. But of course, we are reading a story that we are probably all very familiar with. The next couple chapters, we will probably kind of know how this whole story plays out with Joseph and his brethren sort of being reunited, you know, maybe not in the way that his brothers would have preferred, but nonetheless, they are reunited and of course, Joseph, or Jacob rather, comes down with all the souls that are in the way and all the souls that are in Israel and much people are saved alive and they go on to become that nation of Israel. So again, it's a very familiar couple of chapters here, and let me just point out that that's one of the great things about the word of God, that it is literature, that it's not just yes, it's God's word, but it's also a book that forces you to put yourself in the shoes of these people if you really want to understand the story, and that's what literature does, it doesn't just tell you exactly what everybody's feeling, what everybody's motives are, there's always the subtext there, and we don't understand fully everything that Joseph is feeling at this point, we can only speculate. And again, this is a story I've actually thought a lot about over the years and I have some opinions about it that I can't say, you know, emphatically that are true, that my opinion is just my opinion, it's just that. But I do believe that as we grow older and mature and we have more experience in life, we're able to put ourselves into these stories a little bit more and maybe be able to sympathize with these characters that are in these stories. And again, that's one of the beautiful things about the Bible, it's a book that forces you to put yourself in there and makes you hopefully a more empathetic person as a result. That's often why we want to be people who read and of course read the Bible and maybe read other things and use our because it challenges our thinking, use our imagination and not just imagine scenes and descriptions of things, but also to put ourselves in these positions to try to understand what other people are feeling. Even if we don't fully understand what it is, we should get in that practice of trying to being able to relate to other people, be compassionate towards the things that other people are going through. That's another great thing about the Bible. We have to remember that these aren't just Sunday School characters. These are actual people that experience these things. And Joseph has been through a great trial of afflictions leading up to this. He's a man in his thirties at this point, but remember, he was sold into these men that he's now meeting in his thirties when he was just a seventeen year old boy. He was sold into slavery. So here, fifteen plus years later, he's running into these guys. The last time he saw them, it was not a good experience. And again, I say all that because I want us to understand that obviously Joseph is a good guy. Joseph, I believe, is one of the greatest characters in the Bible. You don't have any glaring flaws just pointed out in Scripture. But obviously, he is a sinful man nonetheless because we are all sinners. I believe the Bible chooses not to let us see what sins he might or might not have been guilty of because it is trying to hold him up as an example of a man of great character and integrity and someone that we can look to and learn many great lessons from. But he is a man nonetheless, and I do believe that in the story over the next couple chapters, Joseph has motives to get his younger brother. That's my opinion that he's trying to isolate Benjamin. He only loves Benjamin because Benjamin wasn't there when he got sold into slavery. Obviously, he's been separated from his kin. Like any normal human being, he's going to long for his siblings. He's going to long for that family. But that's been taken away from him and not just because of geographical distance, but because of a very severe betrayal that's taken place between him and his own brethren. Benjamin was not there for that. Benjamin obviously was not part of that conspiracy. Benjamin is his only full brother. These other brethren came from Leah and the other handmaids. He and Benjamin are the only two that were born of Rachel. They had that affinity with one another. They grew up together. I believe if you pay attention through the story, that he's trying to isolate Benjamin. He's trying to get Benjamin down there so he can keep Benjamin himself and maybe just send them back and maybe only reveal himself to Benjamin as Jacob. You say, I don't know about that. Because we know how the story ends. If you've never read the book of Genesis, spoiler alert, in a couple chapters Joseph is going to reveal that he is their brethren. We all know that. But why doesn't he do that right at the beginning? Why not just immediately do that? Why doesn't he just immediately say, hey, it's me guys. It's because I believe Joseph is struggling with some things. Maybe going through something, he didn't anticipate this. Maybe even struggling with the fact that he has them right where he wants them. Maybe having to struggle with the fact that he could, if he wants, exact vengeance on these guys. Maybe he has a little bit of inner turmoil here. Again, that's just all speculation, but he's a man. The Bible says in James 5 that Isaiah was a man subject to like passions as we are. That even the great prophet Elijah, who caused it not to rain upon the earth for three years and did many other great things, called on fire from heaven, he was just a man like me and you. And we have to remember that the people, the characters that we're reading about, they're just as much people as we are. And there's great lessons that we can learn from these people if we'll stop and not just read the facts of the story. Because tonight, there's not a lot of deep doctrine here. It's just a narrative. It's just telling you a story. It's put upon the reader to put themselves in the story and to grapple with these things and do a little bit more maybe deeper thinking. We shouldn't be people who just want everything spelled out for us. That's why I love the Bible. It challenges us. It makes us more receptive, at least it ought to. So remember that when you're reading your Bible. Even if you're reading a story that you've read many times over, where it's just kind of the facts of the situation, you don't get a lot of detail as far as to what people's motives are or what they're feeling, remember that you can put yourself in that story. How would you feel? How would you feel if you were Joseph? How would you take it now that you're the second most powerful man in the world, second only to Pharaoh? You've got all these other people from all these other countries coming and you're selling them corn. Everybody's looking to you. They're practically worshipping you. You're a savior under these people. You have such great authority. The previous chapter, Pharaoh was telling him you will be second only to me in the kingdom. Put yourself in that story. Now you have these guys that you haven't seen in a couple decades and the last time you saw them they were selling you into slavery. They were throwing you in a pit and intended to kill you originally. If it hadn't been for Ruben that's when it would have happened. But it wasn't that bad. He only got sold into slavery and spent who knows how long maybe upwards of a decade or more in prison. Now these guys that are responsible for all this heartache, all this difficulty, all these trials, all this toil and labor and everything that you've gone through are standing there and you've got them right where you want them. You could do anything to them. I don't know that, and again this is why Joseph I believe is a man of integrity because ultimately he does the right thing and has a complete change of heart. He ends up saying you meant it to me for evil but God for good to save much people alive as it is this day. He sees God's will through it. Would we be able to do the same thing in that situation? Would we be able to look at the trials and afflictions that we go through in our lives and see God's hand in it? Try to see what God is doing through these situations. Or if we were given an opportunity like this to exact vengeance to take out our own will on other people, what would we do? Hopefully we'd be people like Joseph, but again not perfect as you kind of see in this story. I feel like you can kind of tell he's kind of like I don't know. Maybe give you guys a little bit of a taste of your own medicine, right? Because if you look at some of the facts here, they come down into the land of Egypt in verse 6, and Joseph was the governor over the land and he was that sold to all the people of the land and Joseph's brother came and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth and Joseph saw his brethren and knew them and made himself strange unto them. Again, he doesn't go, guys it's been so long. Oh, it's you. That's what I think is going on there. And he's purposely making himself strange. Why else all of the subterfuge here? Why all the kind of cat and mouse or whatever you want to call it? Why is he making himself strange unto them? If he's just gotten over everything and is just ready to throw his arms around them and just forgive everything, why wouldn't he just immediately do that? Right? To me, he's making and then again, it says he made himself strange unto them and spake roughly unto them. And I don't think he's just putting on a show. I think that was that rough speaking, that harsh kind of inquisitive well, you know, more like interrogative, I guess would be the right word, if that even is one, would be more of what he's doing here. Why is he being like this? Because it's coming from his heart. You know, this is what he's feeling inside. He's having some, I believe, some struggle in inner turmoil here at just the sight of these guys. I mean, think about people that have done you dirty in the past, right? We probably all could think of somebody, even the youngest of us, you know, you could think about that time your sibling did something, right? We could all think of somebody who maybe or maybe somebody who's seriously wronged us in the past. And even if we've thought and felt and understood that we are to forgive those people, yet when our paths cross with them, is it really that easy to do, right? You know, we often preach that we are to forgive and to forget. And people think people criticize that, although that's what the Bible teaches. That's how God forgives us. And we ought to forgive as Christ has also forgiven us. That's what we're taught. I preach that, I believe that's biblical, but I didn't say it's easy. I didn't say that it's, you know, oh, it just comes so naturally to me, why don't you do it? You know, believe me, I have people that I've tried to forgive and had to forgive repeatedly in my life. People that have burned me, done things wrong, you know. Why would Joseph be any different? He's a man of like passions, right? So, let's not, let's not, I'm not trying to criticize him here. I'm saying this is perfectly natural, right? And obviously he ends up doing the right thing in the end. It's actually a challenge to us. I'm glad that Joseph isn't just picture perfect in every way. I'm glad that we see, if we look carefully, that he does kind of have this ordeal that he has to get through, that he kind of has to put into practice, you know, forgiveness here. And it says there, Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew him not. And of course, he speaks roughly unto them, what's come ye? And they said, from the land of Canaan to buy food. And they knew him not. And then verse 9, and Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, ye are spies, to see the nakedness of the land, or ye come. Of course, the dreams are referring back to chapter 37, which I, you know, I referred to earlier, where he sees, you know, the dream, he said, where they are binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheave arose, and stood upright, and behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheep. And obeisance is, you know, bowing down, right? It's taking a knee to somebody. It's humbling yourself. It's making yourself even physically vulnerable before them. Okay, that's obeisance. And that's exactly what's happening in the story. They come, and they bow down themselves before him with their faces to the earth. Right? The guys that sold them into slavery, the guys that, you know, you could rightly say, I believe, at least from his, when it's going on, ruined his life, in a sense. Young man, 17 years old, you know, living with his dad, well favored, and has his whole life before him, and the next thing you know, he's a stranger in a strange land. He's in prison. He's being falsely accused of committing adultery. I mean, he's just going through it, right? And here they are, bowing down to him. And Joseph remembers this. Now, I don't think it's, it's Joseph had totally forgotten about this dream as I've preached previously. I believe that vision is something that Joseph has had throughout these years. You don't, you don't just forget that, okay? That's a pretty, I mean, he's going and telling this dream. We probably all have certain dreams from our childhood, right, that we can all recall. I mean, I have several dreams I remember from my childhood. Maybe I'm just weird like that. I don't know. But some people have dreams that, you know, there's certain dreams in our lives that stand out. At least for some people. I don't know, right? At least, but that's what I'm saying with Joseph, you know, that's the case, I believe, that he had this vision, and you know, and I've preached all that before, where it's that vision that allows him to go through these things and, and to remain faithful. But here he is remembering that dream, not meaning that, oh, yeah, I totally forgot about that, right? I believe that's something he's remembered. But he's remembering it in the context of what's happening right now, that you guys are making obeisance, that you guys are bowing down. What God has said has come to pass. And I believe that's good, that maybe that's another reason why God gave him that vision, right? So that he wouldn't just exact vengeance on them. That he would remember that God, there's something to this, that God you know, intends to do something through him, okay? And he remembers the dream, right? And he accuses them of being spies, verse 10, and they said unto him, nay, my Lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man's sons, we are true men, thy servants are no spies. And he said unto them, nay, but to see that nakedness land are ye come. And they said, thy servants are twelve brothers and the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and behold, the youngest is with our father, and the one is not, meaning he's dead. And Joseph said unto them, that is, that I spake unto you, saying, ye are spies. Hereby you shall be proved by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither. Now notice how many times he emphasizes this, okay? Except your youngest brother come hither, send one of you and let him fetch your brother, and you shall be kept in prison that your words may be proved, whether they be any truth in you, or the life of Pharaoh, you are surely spies. And he put them all in warden for three days, verse 20, but bring your youngest brother. So he's being, just over and over again, you know, I want your brother here, I want your youngest brother, bring him here. And of course, he's doing it all under the subterfuge of saying, well, I'm just going to prove whether or not you're spies, right? Let's see if you're really telling the truth here. But he already knows the truth, right? Joseph knows who these guys are, obviously he knows they're telling the truth, so what's the point of all this? You know, it's my contention that he's trying to isolate Benjamin, that he just wants to have that relationship back with him. He could really care less about these other guys, right? And again, that's because he's human, you know, that he's somebody, you know, who's been wronged severely. You know, I don't know that any of us have been wronged to the degree that this man has been wronged by even his next of kin. I don't know, we've probably all, you know, not to minimize anything anybody else has gone through, but I mean, this is a severe, you know, betrayal that he suffered. I don't think he's ready to just turn on a dime and just forgive everything because he's a person. He has to, you know, be reminded that God has a will here. So again, he's trying, I believe, just to get Joseph. And verse 16, Send one of you and let him fetch your brother and ye shall be kept in prison. Now, you know, it says in verse 17, and he put them all together into ward three days. So he says, send one of you and the rest of you stay in prison and then he puts all of them in prison, right? Because it's not until after they come out of ward, come out of prison, that then Simon is kept and the rest sent back, right? So you kind of wonder, like, what's going on? Why does he say send one of them and put them all in prison? Well, I think he's kind of putting in there to kind of think, well, you guys decide which one of you gets to go free. It's almost like a kind of torture, right? I don't know if this is something that the Japanese did way back in the day in feudal Japan, but I read a story once about feudal Japan where the samurai captured these guys, these Europeans, and they put them all in the prison and he said, you know, none of you can come out until you choose one of you to die. Like, they all had to pick one guy to be killed and then the rest of them could come out, right? So this is kind of it's like kind of like a torture, right? Okay, let's all decide who gets to go free and go back to dad while the rest of us sit here and rot in jail, right? So, you know, it's not I think that's kind of what he's doing here, right? He's kind of toying with them. It doesn't seem like a guy who's ready to just drop his guard and just, you know, drop the facade and just instantly forgive these guys, right? There's inner turmoil that's taking place in Joseph's heart and mind, I believe. And he said, well that doesn't seem very nice, but again, remember Joseph, as we looked at previously in other, you know, leading up to this story, has potentially spent a decade or more in prison because of these guys. Remember, he was 17 years old when he was sent into Egypt and you know, he wasn't brought out before Pharaoh until he was 30 years old. Thirteen years went by and we kind of went over the math. The Bible doesn't explicitly say how long he was in prison, but I mean, three days is not, he was in there a little bit longer than three days. You know, I have to believe that. So maybe he's giving, maybe he's only in there three years and he's saying, you know what, a day for every year that I spent in prison because of you. He's kind of giving them a taste of their own medicine, right, throwing them all on board, uncertain about what's going to happen, not sure if any of them are going to leave alive, you know, having to have this debate about which one of us gets to go. I mean, I would have loved to sat in on that conversation like, all right, so who's it going to be? You know, well let's draw straws or, you know, who knows how they decide, but obviously they didn't make a decision, right, because they come out and Joseph, it seems like just kind of chooses for them. And they brought him out of the ward after three days, verse 18, and Joseph said to them the third day, this do and live for I fear God. If you be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison. Go ye carry corn for the famine for your house. So I had it backwards there, it's send one of you and the rest of you stay. So that was the debate that they had to have, right, they had to have the debate of which one of us, you know, has to stay here. That would probably be worse, right. But, so he's saying, hey, if you be true men, just bound, you know, let one of you stay here and the rest of you go. So they probably, that would probably be the hardest conversation to have in prison. Okay, which one of us is going to stay here, right. Either way, it stinks. But again, but bring your youngest brother unto me, so shall all your words be verified and you shall not die, and they did so. And they said once another, we are very guilty concerning our brother and that we saw the anguish of his soul. When we besought him and we would not hear. So they're giving us some details about that specific event back in chapter 37 when he was sold into slavery by his brethren. It wasn't just Joseph went, oh, what are you guys doing? Oh, you want me to go with your lights down on you? Okay. You know, it says that he besought them and we saw what the anguish of his soul. And that's not, that's not, you know, an over-exaggeration. I mean, imagine someone in your family, your family conspiring against you and ruining your life like that, selling you into slavery. I mean, we could probably all think of things. We all have our worst fears of something happening to us, happening to our family members. Maybe we think about, I guess I can't speak for anybody else tonight, but sometimes we think about those things, hopefully, maybe, I don't know, about things that might happen to us. I know I do. You know, what would happen if one of my children came up missing or, you know, something happened to my wife, you know, I got a glimpse, you know, got kind of a reality check with that the other day leaving work, you know, almost got hit by that car, almost got t-boned. Like, it could be a very different situation. That stuff, you know, if we really think about, you know, what would happen, how would we feel? We think about what that would make us feel, right? And probably something that maybe we're not going to use this word, but anguish is what we would probably describe in some way. I would feel horrible. I would feel terrible. I don't know what I'd do. You know, we just think about hypothetically what might happen, you know, how we might feel if something like that happened. Joseph actually went through it. It actually happened, and he actually felt this. He actually went through these things. Anguish of soul. And they're describing this to him before him. We saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us. And besought is like when he was begging us, right? So again, you got to kind of put yourself in that scene. You know, he's there, you know, begging them, please don't do this. Please don't do this. Just beseeching them in anguish of soul, and they, and we would not hear. Therefore is this distress come upon us. And you know what? The right. Because Joseph, Joseph is saying, you guys are going to get it, right? Now, obviously, he holds back, and I think that three days that they spent Ward, maybe he starts to have a change of heart. Maybe he cools off a little bit, has, you know, that waiting period, and is able to come back and say, hey, I fear God. This do. You know, one of you is going to stay bound. The rest of you return. And bring your brother back again, your youngest. And then you can have your other guy, the other guy feel free. But they're right. That's why that distress came upon them, right? That's why Joseph is reacting the way they did, because when he was in anguish of soul and besought them, they would not hear. And Reuben answered, answered them, and this is where I think Joseph gets some insight into, you know, this situation. When it comes to Reuben, you know, you could say, well, maybe he overheard the conversation in chapter 37 where Reuben is trying, you know, he's saying, don't kill him. Just cast him into a pit. But maybe not. This might be this might be even a revelation to to Joseph. And Reuben answered them, saying, spake I not unto you, saying, do not sin against the child, and ye would not hear. Therefore behold, also his blood is required. They're assuming he's dead, right? He got sold into Egypt, and he's as good as dead. And they knew not that Joseph understood, for he spake unto them by interpreters. So again, back in chapter 37, when they are conspiring against him, it says in verse 21, And Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hands, and said, let us not kill him. And of course, they put him in the pit, and then they they sell him into the Ishmaelites that are going down into Egypt. And Reuben appears was not present when that took place. And Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit, and he rent his clothes, and he returned unto his brethren, and said, the child does not, and whither shall I go? Because in verse 22, it says that Reuben sought to deliver him to his father again. Reuben actually wanted to deliver Joseph, right? Now that, you know, that's, I think, why we end up seeing Simeon bound. Because remember, Simeon's the second born. You have Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, right? So I think that's why, you know, I don't know if they chose Simeon, but it seems like that they didn't make a decision, right? To me, I always kind of read it like, my understanding is Joseph hears this conversation because they're just speaking openly before him because as it says, you know, they they knew not that he was, Joseph was, understood them, and we know that he spoke to them through an interpreter, right, at the end of verse 23. Before he's spoken to them by an interpreter. So he hears this and he goes, Reuben, you know, he's trying, you know, he kind of maybe makes that connection, like, oh, Reuben's the one, so maybe instead of taking the first born Reuben, I'll just take Simeon instead, okay? So I think that's my understanding. Again, you know, again, a lot of this is just conjecture on my part, I understand. But, you know, it's a narrative. It's not like there's a lot of solid doctrine being taught here tonight. It's a story, again, that challenges us to put ourselves in the position of these people and to empathize with them, to try to understand what it is they might have been feeling. And I think that Joseph was really struggling with not just severely punishing these guys. They got off light, right? Because he's remembering the dream, he's understanding that God is involved in this somehow, that there's more to this story. You know, the conclusion that he comes to when he finally reveals his brethren, I believe it's something that he's learning. It's not something he understood out of the gate, okay? When he says, you know, God meant it for good, I believe that's something that we're watching him learn as this carries out right now. I don't believe that's something he just from day one, you know, as he's bound going down to the Ishmaelites, well, God's, you know, something's good is gonna come out of this. I believe he had faith, I believe he trusted in God, and he had integrity and all that, but I believe you know, the specifics of God's will are something that he's seeing unfold in the moment that we're reading, right? In this story. So again, he's struggling with this, and he's saying, well, you know what, Reuben? You get a pass, you know. I'm gonna give you a pass. Simeon, come with me. Because it says that, you know, they bound him before them. But notice again, in verse 24, he breaks, right? So he hears them recounting the story, and Reuben, you know, rebuking them, and saying, you know, didn't I tell you not to do this? You know, and now, his blood is required. And it says in verse 24, and he turned himself about from them, and wept, right? So again, you can see there's this struggle that's going on in Joseph. And he returned again, and communed with them, and took from them, so he's taking them, Simeon, and bound him before their eyes, saying, okay, now go back and get Joseph, or get Benjamin, and then you can come back. Now, he does, you know, in verse 25 and onward, we see where he does something that might make you think that, you know, he's just, has no ill will whatsoever towards these guys, right? Because he goes on, and he returns their money unto them, right? He fills their sacks with their corn, and to every man, and to store every man's money into his sack, so he kind of stashes it away. He says, hey, give them their corn that they paid for, and then take their money, and put it in the sack with the corn. And they don't realize what happens until they're, you know, on the way back. But again, obviously, Joseph, I believe, did have, you know, was likely at least tempted with the possibility of exacting vengeance, but we see him ultimately starting to do the right thing, okay? I believe that's just a sign that he's coming around. He's hearing the story, and what is it that he's hearing that's coming out of them? Guilt, right? He's hearing them feel guilty, right? That's kind of what causes him to weep, and I believe start to have that turn of heart, you know, change of heart in that moment. He said, we are very guilty concerning our brother. That's how they, after they, you know, when they're brought out of the ward, he says, you know, we're very guilty. You know, it's a lot easier to forgive people when they admit guilt, isn't it? It's a lot easier to forgive people when they express, you know, sorrow for what they've done. And although they're not expressing this directly to Joseph, at least he's seeing that they're not just these cold-hearted psychopaths, right, that they're people who made a seriously bad mistake and feel guilty for it, and rightly so. And that's a lesson right there, is that, you know, if we ever are the ones that do, if we do somebody wrong, or we make a mistake, you know, be somebody that's willing to own up to it. Be somebody that's willing to admit guilt when you've committed sin. Be somebody that's willing to admit when you've done wrong. Because here's the thing, would they have been able to convince Joseph that they hadn't done something wrong? No, no, you're imagining things, right? Could you think they'd get away with gaslighting them? I know that's like, it's a term everyone uses, but very few people know exactly what it means, right? You're remembering it wrong, Joseph. We didn't sell you into slavery. You wanted to go, remember, you know? You paid them to take you, right? No, obviously they wouldn't be able to do that. They have, but you know, but again, they're not we know this is a genuine sorrow because they don't think he understands. This isn't like, oh we feel so bad like they're saying this because they understand this is Joseph. He understands us, right? They think it's just some stranger and they're just having a conversation between themselves. So that's how Joseph knows this is a sincere sense of guilt that they have. They're truly sorry for what they've done. You know, I can't imagine, I mean that's what blows my mind too, is that they're living with this secret the whole time. These siblings, these brothers, these ten brothers are living with this every day of their life. Are you going to tell me that those guys didn't think about Joseph probably every single day of their life? Probably. Maybe, probably a lot of sleepless nights for all the things, for what they had done. I'd imagine, you know. I'd imagine, you know, and what really blows me away is that you know, they're keeping this from, they've kept this from Jacob all these years. They've never cracked. And of course they're about to get busted, right? The whole thing is going to get blown wide open, right? But again, they're having a genuine, I believe, expression, and not just because they got caught or whatever, they're saying, we deserve this, this is happening to us because we're guilty of this. This is happening to us because we're guilty, we deserve this is happening, we're wrong for what we did. That's a lesson in and of itself. Don't be people who can't admit you're wrong. Especially when other people know you're wrong. Okay? This is a good lesson for young people, for children. Okay? And obviously adults can be wrong too. I'm not saying that they can't. But this is, you know, especially young children, especially those getting into their teenage years that are teenagers, they kind of get this know-it-all attitude, you don't know it all. And if your parents, you know, say this is the rule, that's the rule. And when you break it, you know, you broke it. Admit it when you're wrong. Because they know you're wrong. They know you did it, right? There's nothing more infuriating than people, you know, it's one thing to do something and to commit sin or break some rule, it's another thing to lie about it. It's another thing to just, you know, make excuses and just lie about it and act like it's not a big deal. You know, even if it's not a big deal, right, whatever it is you did or didn't do, you know, it's the fact that you didn't obey often that's the problem, right? You know, parents get upset sometimes with their kids because they don't do things that they're supposed to do. And, you know, kids can kind of like, what's the big deal? What's the big deal if I didn't take the trash out? You know, I'm just using kind of a generic sin that, you know, that might be a chore that a kid has, right? Well, so what? What's the big deal? Well, the big deal is, it's like, anyone can take the trash out, but the big deal is that you were supposed to do it and you didn't do it. Right? That's the big deal. And then kids go, I can't understand why my parents are so upset just because I kind of, ooh, ooh, ooh, shrugged it off. Right? It's because, you know, it's because you're not doing what you're told and you don't even feel bad about it. You know, and then they can't figure out why their parents blow up at them or whatever or they get disciplined or something. It's because we know that whatever lame excuse you're giving is a lie. It's just a stupid lie. I forgot, right? My, like, I thought my mom was convinced she had like a fourth child named I Forgot. You know? Or we adopted another kid called Not Me. You know? And it's like, well, somebody knows who did it. Somebody, you know, we know you didn't forget. Somebody knows something about what happened here. Not me. Right? But here's the thing. Let's say, you know, and again, I'm kind of picking on the kids and stuff tonight, but even those of us maybe we do something wrong at work or whatever. You make a mistake with the budget or whatever at home. You know, just admit it. Just admit it. Because when you say, hey, I'm guilty. You're right. I'm sorry. I made a mistake. Then the other person can say, oh, okay. Well, as long as you acknowledge it, you know, let's not do that again. Let's move forward. Let's learn our lesson. Right? Because that's it's not like people want or looking for a chance to just come down on you. You know, it's not like your parents, young kids, are just looking for a chance to cloud up and rain on you. You know, they would rather you just admit you're wrong so that they can instruct you and teach you and get over and get things right and move on. I mean, it worked for Joseph's brother and, right, it kind of brought him around, I think. Because look at the beginning of the chapter. He's speaking roughly unto them. You're spies. You know, you're here to spy out the land. You're going to spend time in jail. You know, only, you know, the rest of you can go back, but one of you is staying here. And I believe he did have other motives there. But he's not just dropping the facade, dropping and just saying, hey, it's me, guys. We're all good here. I believe that he has some strong feelings and he's kind of struggling with it, but with maybe taking advantage. But what brings him around to the place where he's like, you know what, just put some money, put their money back in there and send them back. This conversation, that's kind of like the linchpin here in the chapter. When they had this conversation and he hears them expressing guilt and remorse and even Reuben getting after him and saying, you know, I told you guys not to do that. So here's the thing. If you do wrong and you admit it, the people that you've wronged can then forgive you and move on. And look, I know we don't have to wait for people to admit they're wrong or say they're sorry to forgive them, but it makes it a whole lot easier, don't it? And it's so frustrating. And this is a lesson that must be learned when you're young because people carry this into their adult years and they take it to the workplace. And look, it's so frustrating to deal with people who can't admit when they've made a mistake, when they've done something wrong. And again, it's not so we can feel like, well, I wouldn't have made that mistake. It's like, so we know that you're going to learn the lesson and make it right. That's what we care about. Anyway, I didn't intend to go that way, but I did. The other lesson here is that, you know, Simeon, you know, think about the situation. Again, this is all conjecture, speculation, my part, I get it. They're all in on it, right? They were all in on selling Joseph into slavery. Reuben's the only one that's kind of, and it appears like he's the, that's why he's kind of in chapter 37 having to kind of like, you know, navigate those waters pretty carefully. Saying, hey, just throw him into the pit like maybe he was going to, when they were gone or something, like deliver him and like run away, you know, because I think the reason why he had to be careful about that is because of the fact that everybody else was on board obviously, right? So Reuben, you know, because the oldest child is typically kind of the leaner, right? Reuben's the oldest, but the other nine are not on board with him. Simeon's the second oldest. My thought is like, well, maybe Simeon was kind of leaning on the charge on like, hey, let's get rid of this guy, right? They all, they all hated him. Reuben hated him. They all despised him because he was, he was loved of his father, right, and had that coat of many colors, but Reuben at least had enough sense to say, well, this isn't right what we're doing. However, Simeon, it seems like, was probably the one, I don't know, but he very likely could have been the one like, here's what we're going to do, okay? So maybe that's why Simeon's being bound. Now he's going to spend some time in jail. Now he's going to spend some time not, you know, separated from his brethren. You know, I don't know, it might just be a coincidence, but whoever he grabbed of those other nine besides Reuben, right, every one of them were guilty of selling their brother into slavery or, you know, consenting to it. And the other lesson is, the lesson that we often hear is that we reap what we sell. You know, Galatians 6, you know, God is not mocked. Be not deceived, God is not mocked. Whatsoever man soweth, that shall he also reap. You know, if we sow to the flesh, we shall of the flesh reap corruption. If we sow to the spirit, we shall of the spirit reap life everlasting. That's an immutable law of the universe that you reap what you sow. And look, we often, you know, and again, I keep saying we, like I just, I could speak for everybody in the room. But, you know, a lot of times, I don't know, maybe nobody else does, but we often might take that in a negative connotation. You might hear that and think, well that's kind of a scary statement, you reap what you sow. And it is scary if you're reaping, if you're sowing the wrong kind of seed. But you can just as easily sow good seed and reap that. Right? That's the promise of word of God. Whatsoever you sow, you're going to reap. Whether of the flesh, corruption, or of the spirit, life everlasting. It's a double-edged sword. And Simeon in the story is, I believe, reaping what he's sown. You know, he was one that perhaps was a bit of a ringleader and conspiring against his brother and now his brother, his younger brother is an authority over him and has him in a position where he can do whatever we want with him. And he's going to give him a taste of his own medicine. So, going on here in the story, and we read it before the service, and they get sent off not knowing that their money's been returned. And again, verse 34, and bring your youngest brother unto me, just like over and over and over again. It's just so clear to me that this is his motive. Right? These other emotions, these things that he's feeling, these other things he's maybe struggling with, they're there. But what he's trying to get out of the situation is Benjamin. He wants him back. Right? And that's important because when we get into chapter 44, or 45 rather, where he finally breaks, it's a sudden break where he finally just says, you know what, it's me, and reveals himself. It kind of comes suddenly. It's a very strong emotional response. I think because he's trying to hold back, because I think he's trying to accomplish something specific, it's my opinion that he's trying to isolate Benjamin, get him into Egypt, and send the rest of them back thinking that he's just some guy, Pharaoh's corn guy, or whatever. I could be wrong. So they go back, and they're recounting the story to Joseph, and it says in verse 35, and it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that behold, every man's bundle of money was in a sack, and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. They're like, whoops, because they're, you know, they can't explain why it's there. They were like, hey, score, you gotta rebate. They're like, how did that happen? Did we not pay this guy? Because they're concerned. This is a scary thing. And Jacob, their father, said to them, me have breathed of my children, Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and now you will take Benjamin away? All these things are against me. And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, slay my two sons, if I bring not him to thee. And his two sons said, thanks, dad. And his two sons were like, you know, Benjamin should stay. We really like him, he's our favorite uncle. Let's just keep him here. Keep Uncle Benjamin at home. Right? Hopefully they didn't hear that. You know, and you say, why would Reuben say that? You know, maybe I think Reuben is just, I don't know that he actually meant it, or maybe he meant it in the moment, but sometimes when people, sometimes people just say things under distress. Sometimes people just say things at, you know, a strong emotional response. They're just trying to be emphatic. Right? They're just trying to persuade somebody. You know, maybe later he would have gone back and said, you know, that whole thing about slaying my two sons, you know, I didn't mean it. Right? You know, it's easy for him to say that because he's fully convinced that he'd have no problem going back and bringing Benjamin back. Just kind of, you know, foolish. And I will bring him back to thee again. You don't know that, right? So he's kind of gambling with other people's lives. And he said, meaning Jacob, my son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead. And again, that's, you know, when I read that again, it just kind of hit me like, that means all these years, they've been living with this lie. And they've been letting their father think that he just got torn up by some wild animal, just met some tragic end, and is just dead, right? They've been living with that for all these years. I can't imagine the guilt that they're feeling. And again, you say, well, how do you know? The Bible doesn't say they did. You know, they're bad people. They did some bad things. You know, they're bad people in a sense, but I don't think that they're sociopaths. I don't think they're just these psychotic individuals that just have no feeling of remorse. There's nothing in the Bible indicating that they are. They've done some wicked things. They've gotten out of hand, you know, obviously. They've done some horrible things, but, you know, they're still people, you know. And just because we see bad people, you know, people do bad things, and things that they should be sorry for, that doesn't mean that they're just despicable, worthless people that can't be redeemed, okay? So he's saying, you know, his brother is dead and he is left alone. If mischief befall him, by the way in which you go, then you shall bring down my grares with sorrow to the grave. You know, he's just saying, you know, it would just kill me if anything happened to Benjamin. Because again, remember, Jacob loved Rachel. That's who he wanted. And those are the only two sons that she gave him is Jacob. Is Joseph and Benjamin. And one of them is gone, right? So that's the last one he has. So you can see, you can understand his reluctance. But the other point I'll make, and it's kind of a lead into next week, is look at verse 43, chapter 43, verse 1, and the famine was sore in the land. And all of a sudden, he has a change of mind, right? It's easy to say those things and not want to go along with it when you've got a, you know, nine sacks of corn sitting there and a bunch of money. You know, it's easy to say that when there's plenty of food on the table, right? But when that goes away, it's like all of a sudden now he's willing to compromise, right? So that's a whole other lesson in and of itself. But, you know, tonight, really the one thing I want us to kind of see here is that, again, Joseph is a man of integrity. Don't get me wrong. I think he's a great character. But he is a man, right? And I'm not saying that he did anything sinful in the story. What I am saying is that the Bible often challenges us to look beyond the letters that are in the page to actually really try to think about the situation and put ourselves in the positions of these people, you know, and to understand, to better understand the story, for one, but also to make us, you know, more empathetic in the here and now. You know, that's a skill that we need to develop as people to be able to maybe even if it's, none of us have experienced this, right? But we can relate in the sense that we might be able to speculate about what that might be like and what it might make us feel like. You know, that's a skill we should try to develop, empathy. You know, that way when we meet people that are going through things and going through difficult things that maybe we haven't gone through, we can at least try to, you know, have compassion upon them, try to understand and not just, you know, write people up. Because this is something that, and I think it's something that we all do, that we're all guilty of. And that's why I say it's a skill, because you have to develop this in life. You know, we don't always often think about the things that other people might be going through, how they feel, or the things that they're experiencing. If it's not happening to us, then it's not really happening, oftentimes. And I don't fault people, you know, that's just kind of human nature, that's the way it is. That's why, again, I say it's a skill, and I think that's why the Bible writes stories like this the way that it does. Where it doesn't say, and here's exactly how Joseph was feeling, here were all of Joseph's motivations. You know, it hints at maybe some of them, but it causes us to put ourselves in a situation and to really think how would I feel if I were in that person's situation. And when we do that, then we can better appreciate, in this circumstance, Joseph's integrity. Because I don't know about you, but I don't know that I'd have, I'd like to think and like to say that I would have the character to just forgive people that have done me such wrong. And that's the right thing to do. We all understand that. But would we have the integrity that Joseph had, the faith that he had, to know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to his purpose? Would we all have the same integrity Joseph did? I'd like to think so, but at the very least, it teaches us to empathize with other people. Let's go ahead and close in a word of prayer. Dear Lord, again, thank you for the story of Joseph. And Lord, thank you for the Bible and its depth Lord, and the way it challenges us and causes us to, Lord, to contemplate and think about the things that are written. Not to just read over these stories and to not pause, Lord. Help us to be people that meditate upon the Word of God day and night, Lord. Help us to give ourselves wholly to these things so that we can learn, Lord, not only the truths of your word, but also, Lord, lessons and skills and traits that'll help us in the here and now even with the people that we are surrounded by, the people that we interact with in our own lives. We ask these things in Christ's name. Amen. Alright, we'll go ahead and sing one more song before we are dismissed. If you could please grab your handles and turn to song number 63. Song number 63. What a day that will be. Isn't that a song number 63? A short but sweet song. Only two verses to make sure the single draw. Song number 63. Oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh There is coming a day When our water and hate shall come From the clouds in the sky Over tears in the hour All is peaceful and warm On that happy, coldest shore What a day for this day that will be What a day that will be Jesus, I shall see When I look upon his face The one who saved me by his grace When he takes me by the hand And leads me through the promised land What a day for his name That will be Oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh For sin was for pain One more body over there And forever and free When the one who died for me What a day for his name That will be What a day that will be When by Jesus I shall see When I look upon his face The one who saved me by his grace When he takes me by the hand And leads me through the promised land What a day for his name That will be