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So in Genesis 44, we're kind of right in the middle of the story where Joseph and his brethren are being reunited. And if you remember last week in chapter 43, Judah and his brethren have returned back into Egypt, kind of after having that back and forth with their father. You know, he had some objections, but now they've got Benjamin with them, which is what Jacob was resisting the whole time. And now they have gone back and they're actually quite well entreated by Joseph. He, if you remember, takes them into his home, sits down and has a meal with them. You know, they're sitting by themselves. The Egyptians are sitting by themselves and Joseph kind of by himself. And it ended last week, it says in verse 34, and he sent, and this is chapter 43, and he sent and took messes unto them from before him. But Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of theirs, and they drank and were merry with him. So it's a very cordial affair that's taking place there. There's a lot of, you know, it ended well. There's a lot of levity there at the end of chapter 43. And one other thing I want to point out in particular is that Benjamin, again, is receiving five times as much as any of theirs. So he's just really lavishing Benjamin because, as I have kind of put forth, my theory is that Joseph's plan this whole time has been to get Benjamin to himself. That's why he's kind of been doing all the things that he's doing, kind of working the situation. And I think that this kind of backs this up in this chapter. If you look at Genesis chapter 41, after they've had this meal, of course, they sell them the corn. And then he, you know, hatches this plot, right, to get to isolate Benjamin. And he commanded, verse one, the steward of his house, saying, fill the men's sacks with food as much as they can carry. Put every man's money in his sacks mouth and put my cup, the silver cup, in the sacks mouth of the youngest and his corn money. And he did according to that what that Joseph had spoken. So Joseph's being very particular. He's saying it's got to be the youngest, right? Why is that? Because he wants to get Benjamin back. That he's trying to, I believe, separate Benjamin from his brethren. He doesn't harbor any ill will towards his brethren, right? I believe he's more than willing, obviously, to send them back with the food. But my, you know, my opinion is that he's trying to get Benjamin separated. And so he can just have him for himself. And he did according to the word of Joseph that had spoken. Again, that's why they're putting it in just Benjamin's. If this whole thing, you know, why all of the, you know, conspiring here? Why all this back and forth with him? If he's just wanting to reveal himself, he could reveal himself. Some people might say, well, he's testing his brethren to see how they're going to react. If he, you know, goes after Joseph, or Benjamin, rather, you know, if he comes across as he's going to punish Benjamin. Are they willing to, you know, do unto him what they've done unto Benjamin what they've done unto him, right? Some people say, oh, he's just testing his older brethren. And look, that's a totally valid theory. That, in fact, could be what's going on here. I just don't personally agree with that. You know, maybe I'll come around. But I've thought about this a lot. My opinion is that Joseph, throughout this whole time, has been trying to just get Benjamin back. He obviously cares about his other brethren. But I believe that's the internal struggle that we're seeing in Joseph throughout these chapters, where he's having to come to terms. And I don't want to get ahead of myself with next week, ultimately, because that's a great example of forgiveness, is to forgive and to forget, to let bygones be bygones. I believe that's what eventually happens with Joseph. He just can't take it anymore and reveals himself unto his brethren. But I think, in the meantime, leading up to next week, chapter 45, he's still kind of going through this struggle, and he's trying to isolate just his younger brother there. So it says, And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken, as soon as the morning was light. The men were sent away, they and their asses. You know the story, when they were gone out, not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Follow up, follow after them. And when thou wast overtaken of them, saying to them, Why, therefore, have you rewarded evil for good? Is not this it in which my Lord drinketh, and whereby he indeed divineth, as he hath done evil in so doing? So he's trying to really put the fear in them, saying, this cup is the cup that he divines by. Like he's got some kind of supernatural power or something like that. But we know that it's just one big conspiracy here. And he overtook them, and spake unto them he saying words. And they said unto him, Wherefore, saith my Lord these words, God forbid that thy servant should do according to this thing. Behold the money which we have found in our sacks mouths, we brought again unto the Lord out of the land of Canaan. How then should we steal out of the Lord's house silver or gold? Saying, well we brought back the money last time. Like if we were trying to steal from you, we would have just kept that money. So what are you saying here? So they're trying to make their case. It's a pretty good argument. Verse 9, Whither whomsoever thy servant it be found, let him both die. And we also that be my Lord's bondsman. Now I don't know that it was necessarily Judah that was speaking at this point. Because remember last week Judah has offered himself up to stand. If anything happens to Benjamin, he's saying, I shall bear the blame of it basically. So I don't know who's speaking here when they say, hey let him die. Like if you find it, maybe Judah's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, easy fella. I don't know. But it's kind of interesting that they say that. And there's a lot of lessons here. We should be careful not to just make these bold proclamations just to say things when we don't have the full story. Whosoever of thy servants it be found, let him both die. And we also will be my Lord's bondmen. So what they're trying to do, because they truly believe they're innocent. And here's the thing, when people really are innocent, they can make these kind of bold claims. Like hey, we didn't do this. They can be very emphatic in their innocence. And that's kind of why they're making this bold statement. Well hey, if it be found, then let him die and we'll be your servants. What they're saying is we're innocent. We haven't done this. And of course that plays right into Joseph's plan. And he said, verse 10, and now he said, let it also be according to your words. He that whom it is found shall be my servant, but ye shall be blameless. He's saying, because the servant here knows the plot. He knows what Joseph's trying to accomplish. He's saying, we're not out for blood here. We just want Benjamin. And he knows where he's going to find that silver cup. And they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground and opened up every man his sack. And he searched and began at the Elvis and left at the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. And of course, this comes to a shock to everybody, including Benjamin. Then they rent their clothes and laid it every man his ass and returned to the city. So they don't just, they're not giving up without a fight. Like they're going to go back and try to make supplication to Joseph in order to spare their brother Benjamin. That's why they're all going back with Benjamin. They're saying, hey, we're not just going to abandon you. Okay. So you could say, well, maybe Joe, you know, again, like I said, that's, that's a valid theory. And, and, you know, if that's the case, then they're kind of passing the test here, aren't they? What you see is that they are, there has been a change that they're not quick to just let their brother perish. Like they were so long ago when they sold Joseph in, into, into, into bondage. So whether or not that's what Joseph's intending to do here, the fact remains is that there has been a change in the hearts of these men. That they are now not willing to just, you know, let this happen to their youngest. And you say, well, you know, what's the, maybe they, maybe they cared more for Benjamin, but we have to remember that they were so flippant with Joseph, despite the fact that he was well favored of his father, that he was more, he was loved above his father. They didn't, you know, now it seems like Benjamin is the one that, that Joseph has a great affection for. It's why he's so hesitant to let him go. Right. So it's not a matter of they're just saying, well, you know, we didn't really care for Joseph, but, you know, we care about Benjamin, you know, because, you know, Joseph wasn't that important to begin with. No, Joseph was the favorite son. And from a little bit of the details that we get here, if we kind of interpret maybe some of the things that Jacob is saying, you know, the way he's kind of resistant to let him go, we kind of get the impression that Benjamin has kind of taken that spot as the favored son. And what we see is that now they're, they don't despise him. They don't hate, you know, the preferred son, if that's what he is, perhaps. That they're now willing to, you know, fight for him. They're not willing to just let him perish in Egypt like they were. So there has been a change. If this is what Joseph was testing to see, well, you know, they're going to pass with flying colors, and Judah in particular. And it says in verse 11, well, excuse me, let me just pick up. They rent their clothes, 13, and they go back to the city. And then verse 14, and Judah and his brethren. So notice it's, you know, they spake when they were first confronted, right? They spake and said, you know, whoso, and now, you know, whosoever it be found, let him die, right? And then they go back to the city. But now the narrator's focusing in on Judah specifically, right? And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house. So now Judah is kind of taking center stage here in the story. The Bible's directing our attention towards Judah in particular. And that's because of the fact that he's going to go on for the rest of this chapter and make a very strong plea on behalf of Benjamin that he would not be left to perish, or be taken as a bondman, rather. And it says in verse 15, and Joseph said unto them, what deed is this that ye have done, what ye not, that such a man as I can certainly divine? And we all, it's kind of, that's kind of humorous because the fact is Joseph can't divine. But he's kind of playing that off, like, don't you know I can see things in the dark, or, you know, that I can figure this stuff out? That always kind of humored me that he kind of plays to that, that even though he's, it's like, you're the one that put the cup in the sack, buddy. Like, this is a whole conspiracy that you hatched. And so he's just, again, trying to, you know, make himself be very intimidating, right? And to really put the fear in them of him, right? He's trying to come across as more powerful than he actually is. And that's kind of why, again, I feel like I'm probably more correct about my theory, that he's trying to put this impression upon his other brethren so that they'd be very wary of him and not try anything. And he's going to send them away after he takes Benjamin for himself. And Judah said, what shall we say unto my Lord? So again, this is Judah speaking. So what we see tonight is Joseph's plan, right? That's kind of what I was explaining in the beginning. You don't have to agree with that. You know, you can have a different opinion. Obviously, that's just a matter of opinions conjecture on my part. But we also see here Judah's plea. We see Joseph's plan and Judah's plea, and that's really what takes up the rest of the chapter, is just Judah making this very long plea, this very long intercession on behalf of Benjamin. And as I mentioned last week, just very briefly, is that Judah is at times a picture of Christ, and you can really see that kind of come through here in this chapter because that is exactly what Christ has done for us. Now, obviously, Benjamin is not guilty of anything, right? Judah is pleading for Benjamin's sake, right? He's going before the king, as it were, or the ruler, which could be representative by Joseph as God, right? And then you have Judah who would be representative as Christ, right? So you have God the Father, God the Son. But then you have Benjamin who would be representative of the condemned, right? The guilty. Although we know in the story he isn't condemned. He was framed, right? So it's not a perfect parallel. It's not a perfect picture. But, you know, all great illustrations fall a point. It's somewhere along the line. But it does nonetheless give us some aspect of the picture of Christ in that he is one that makes intercession for us. He makes intercession for those that have been found guilty. We know in the story, if actually Benjamin's not guilty, but, you know, we are, right? We all are guilty of sin, and we need to have somebody to intercede for us. And that's what Judah, I believe, pictures in this chapter, is the substitution of Christ for our sin. If you remember back in chapter 43, verse 8, where Judah is arguing with Jacob, his father, about going back down to the land, back down to Egypt, rather, and having Benjamin present with them, you know, he, again, puts himself on the line as a sacrifice as someone who's willing to step in and pay, you know, the penalty, right? In chapter 43, verse 8, it says, Judah said unto Israel's father, Send the lad with me, and he will rise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and thou and also our little ones. I will be surety for him of my hand shalt thou require him. If I bring him unto thee and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame forever, for except we had lingered, surely we would not return the second time. So obviously, you know, in the story itself, in the context, you know, Judah really is just kind of looking out for everybody in the story, right? He's really just trying to keep people alive, keep people from starving to death, including his own family, you know, just trying to provide for his own, and he's trying to provide for his own household. He's also trying to provide for, you know, the broader people of God at large. So Judah, again, is a great picture of, you know, not only Christ's sacrifice, but it's also a great picture of how we ought to look out for one another, right? We'll talk more about, you know, the fact that he's pleading or interceding on Benjamin's behalf, but really just more humanly speaking in the story itself, practically, Judah is just looking out for, you know, his brethren. He's just looking out for the people that are around him. He just, you say, what's his motive here, right? Why would he make that vow to Jacob back in Chapter 43? Why is he following through with that here in Chapter 44? It's because he cares about other people, right? He actually has a love for other people. He doesn't want to see harm befall them, okay? Look, he could have just said, hey, you got your man. That was pretty stupid, Benjamin, you know, and just gone along with the story and said, we're out of here, right? Come back and, you know, and put his feet up, okay? But that's not the case. He's, you know, he's so concerned with the welfare of other people that he's even saying, let me bear the blame forever if anything happens. If I don't come back with the lad and set him before you, then, you know, I'll be at fault forever. And his motive, again, is just for the well-being of others. And if you would, go over to 1 John Chapter 3. 1 John Chapter 3, of course, keeps something there in Genesis Chapter 44. And this is a New Testament principle that we have to have in our hearts that this is something that we have to put into practice even today. You know, we should care about other people. And that sounds just so basic, right? That just sounds so simple, and it is. It's not, that's not a, you know, like, I'm sure that's not a new revelation to anybody in the room that I just suddenly dawned on you, right? Oh, we're supposed to care about other people. You know, that's something that, obviously, some people have a more natural inclination to than others. Some people have more empathy than others. But we all are commanded to love our brethren. We're all commanded to care about other people, even physically, even if it means having to meet somebody's, you know, physical needs, okay? Look at 1 John Chapter 3, Verse 16. And again, that's what's going on with Judah. He's literally trying to keep people from starving to death. That's his motive here. It says in Verse 16 of 1 John 3, Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Look, that's really strong language. When the Bible's saying we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren, okay? And I know I talked about this a little bit on Sunday when we were talking about the crucifixion of Christ and how he laid down his life for us and maybe even quoted this verse during that sermon when we were going through Mark. So forgive me if I'm repeating myself a little bit tonight, but again, it bears repeating because of the fact that we're living in such a self-centered society today. We're living in such a narcissistic time where people are just so focused on themselves, they're only caring about themselves, and they kind of just shut out everybody else, even to the point where they'll even, you know, shut out their own families. They're more concerned about their own well-being than perhaps even their next of kin, okay? They're more concerned about their own well-being than perhaps even their local church, their spiritual brethren in the local church. They're just more focused on their own lives, what they got going on, and they really aren't that concerned with other people, okay? And I think this is a symptom in our society. Obviously, some people suffer from this more greatly than others, right? In the age of social media, this is something that is running rampant, okay, where people have just become so self-obsessed. Good night, you know, the selfie. It's literally called the selfie, right? Oh, you mean the forward-facing camera? You mean the selfie camera, okay? Yeah, it's the forward-facing camera on your phone. That's the technical term, but what do we call it? The selfie. Why? Because you're taking pictures of yourself, right? If you're not taking pictures of the food you're eating. By the way, if you're going to take pictures of your food, take a picture of it before you take a bite out of it. You know what I mean? It's like you ever get, and I'm guilty of this, like I'm like, I've like eaten a little bit, like, man, I should send a picture of this to somebody because I'm sure they're really interested in what I'm eating right now, right? I actually, it's kind of funny, I was actually thinking that exact thought today because it was my wife's birthday is tomorrow and we're in the middle of moving, so I actually, we decided to celebrate today, so I had taken the day off and we took her up to Teresa's Mosaic. Highly recommend Teresa's Mosaic, okay? And I got the, we got the ceviche, right? The shrimp, which was good. She loves shrimp. Not much a fan here, you know. But hey, it's her birthday we're celebrating, right? And I got the carnitas and I'm thinking, you know, I should take a picture of this and send it to Pastor Anderson, right? And just thank him, right? And just say, you know, I'm just so glad that you gave me this opportunity to minister in Tucson and, you know, and guide me in this direction. And I just felt like, you know, what inspired you? Well, the fact that I'm sitting there eating this delicious meal, I was like, I should take a picture of this and just kind of thank him for his guidance over the years and his spiritual mentorship to guide me to Tucson and root me in Tucson, right? Because otherwise I'd be eating, I probably wouldn't be enjoying that delicious meal. Anyways, that's kind of a joke, but, you know, it's kind of silly that people would take pictures of their food, right, and send it to other people, but they want to let even what other people know, well, this is what I'm eating today, right? And obviously that's kind of lighthearted, but when it comes to this idea of being self-centered, you know, there's a lot of that going on today where it's far worse than that. Where people are, you know, it's just all about posting the physique, posting their vacation, posting this. And look, I'm not against people sharing nice things. You know, people want to post pictures of their kids and stuff and nice things or what they're doing, whatever. I get that people do that, but let's not forget that there's people that go way overboard. Like, their whole life revolves around people paying attention to them. They're, you know, they're influencers. Whatever even that means anymore. They're there to influence other people, and how do they do it? By showing you everything they're doing, right, to influence you. Why? Because they're self-obsessed. They've got to get the followers, they've got to get the likes, they've got to get the comments, they've got to become viral, right? This is the age that we're living in. And it's something we have to bring up because, quite frankly, it's not something I hear brought up a lot. It's kind of just, it's kind of something that just kind of happened to us without us even really knowing it. It kind of just kind of crept up on us, and now we're just in the midst of this super self-centered culture where people are just completely focused on themselves. Look, I'm not saying that's the case for everybody, but it's out there. We've all seen it. And look, that is not a Christian attitude. That is not the attribute of a child of God, to be only thinking of self. And I think that's what Judah is kind of showing us tonight, or at least the story of Judah. It's not, you know, obviously there's the broader spiritual application when we liken him unto Christ. But even just practically speaking, Judah's just being the type of person that just your typical, normal person should be. You know, we should just be empathetic people who care about others, right? Look, Judah hasn't always had a, you know, he doesn't have a stellar record, right? There were some things in Judah's past, some things he got wrong, some things he did wrong. Obviously, he's not a perfect person. No one in the Bible is. But at least in this chapter, we could see that, you know, he's putting himself out there for the sake of Benjamin and for the sake of his father, right? He doesn't want to bring any more grief to his father. He doesn't want to see anybody be harmed. He's willing to lay down his own life for his brethren, right? And that's what we're told to do in the Bible, to lay down our lives for the brethren, okay? Now this, we're not going to start passing the Kool-Aid around, okay? And say, look, tonight's the night we lay down our lives, brother, right? That's not what's going on. But, you know, and obviously that's a tall order, right? To say, hey, even if we had to throw ourselves in a hand grenade or take a bullet for somebody, you know, that's the love of the brethren. It's one thing to preach it, it's one thing to read it, it's one thing to do it. But here's the thing, what about just, you know, laying down your lives in a sense for the brethren by, you know, by maybe not being so self-centered? By maybe not being, you know, making your priorities the only ones that matter. By actually maybe making your local church a priority. That would be in a sense kind of laying down your life, right? If you were to say, I'm going to forego my own ambitions, my own plans, my own desires and carve out some time in my schedule for the brethren, you know, that's in a sense laying down your life, right? Making a sacrifice. And that's what we all do, okay? But the thing is, some of us, you know, that do this on a regular basis, it's just second nature to us. Maybe we have to be reminded, hey, we are doing this. And praise God, you know, if you're feeling like you're coming down on yourself, maybe you're feeling you're not like serving God. Hey, look, if you're making time to be in church on a midweek service, if you're making time to, you know, go out and preach the gospel, to have the fellowship with the brethren that are doing so, you know, that in a sense is you making, you know, laying down your life. You're making God a priority in your life. And I'm just saying tonight, that's commonplace. Or at least it ought to be for the Christian. But unfortunately, you know, today we see so many Christians where, you know, the brethren and church and serving God is just an afterthought. It's just something they'll get around to if it's convenient. And the fact is, is that if this is your attitude, it will never be convenient. You know, serving God is not convenient. Can I just say that? And, you know, I mean, but why would we expect it to be? You know, what else in our life do we do that's convenient, right? If we would only do those things which are convenient, there's a lot of things we wouldn't do, right? That's why there's this thing called procrastinating, right? Because it's not convenient. You don't feel like doing it. There's other things you would rather do, right? It's not a convenient thing to do. It requires effort. Well, you know, it's the same way with serving God. You know, I don't know. I think sometimes people get the idea that, you know, I just leap out of bed in the morning, you know, on a Thursday morning, just all bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, you know, just eager to work a full day and then go to church and preach a sermon, you know? Or, you know, or same thing on a Sunday, you know? Look, I'm grateful to serve God. I'm great. I'm not. Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to sound ungrateful, but I'm just saying, you know, this isn't convenient. You know, you being here took some sacrifice. This required you to be here on a Thursday night. You know, you have, in a sense, you know, laid down some portion of your life for the brethren. And I'm just trying to emphasize the fact tonight that it matters. It does matter if we are, you know, making God a priority in our lives or not. Of course, that's one way you can look at it, but even if it came down to, you know, seeing a brother that has an actual need, the Bible says, But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue. Because that's easy, right? Talk is cheap, right? People can say all the time what they're going to do, right? Oh, I'm going to start going to church more regularly. Oh, I'm going to start soul winning. Oh, I'm going to start reading my Bible. Oh, I'm going to do this. I'm going to do that. You know what that is? It's just cheap talk. In fact, you know, it's interesting. I heard somebody saying that, you know, sometimes when you tell somebody you're going to do something, and then somebody says, oh, good for you, or I bet you'd be really good at that, or yeah, and they would give you some kind of word of encouragement, that often, you know, that's enough for people. They feel that they get the reward for having just said what they're going to do. They get that positive feedback, and then that's it for them. That's like, well, I've got the reward. You know what I'm saying? Let's take my favorite example of the one that everyone loves, right? If we go and tell somebody, hey, I'm going to lose X amount of weight, and then we hear, oh, you know what? They don't say what they're actually thinking. It's about time. I'm just kidding. They're probably like, yeah, well, what are you going to do? They'll try to encourage you. And the way our minds are wired, we walk away and say, well, you got my positive feedback, and it's like we've gotten the reward without even having done anything. All we did was just say, right? Let's make more spiritual application. People do this all the time in their Christian life. Oh, you know what? I'm really going to start going to church more regularly. They'll go home on the car ride home after some sermon where they got super convicted about church attendance or something like that, and they'll look at their spouse. We really need to be in church more regularly. Oh, you're right, honey. We really do. And they both pat each other on the back for acknowledging that they should be in church more often. And now they feel good about the fact that they said it out loud. And now they're, why go to church? Because we just got the positive feedback. How about this one? The new year is coming up. This is the year I'm going to read my Bible cover to cover. This is it. I'm going to do it. And you tell somebody and they're like, oh, yeah, you can do it. Just 15 minutes, 20 minutes a day, X amount of pages a day, which is what I recommend. Don't read by chapters. Read by the number of pages divided by 365. That's the better way to do it. Or 352, excuse me. So, you know, they'll say that. And here's the thing, you know, they get that positive feedback and they don't end up reading their Bible because they got the positive feedback, you know. And so the thing is, maybe we shouldn't just say things and not let these things be done in word or in tongue. But as it says here, indeed and in truth, because that's the hard part, isn't it? When we just actually shut up and do what it is we're supposed to do, right? When we don't go around talking about what we're going to do, but actually just start doing it. That's where the hard work is. We don't tell everybody how we're going to go to church more often. We just show up. We're just there. When we tell everybody, you know, instead of telling everybody what we're going to do for God this year, we just start doing it. Okay. And obviously, the more, the direct application here in John, 1 John 3, is where he's saying, you know, if you see your brother have need and you say, you know, and you shut up your ball of compassion from him, you know, that's not the love of God. Okay. You need to actually do these things in deed and truth. You actually need to be open handed and give and be generous. Okay. Go to Philippians chapter number two, Philippians chapter number two. So again, this is kind of the picture or the example rather of Judah. Okay. This isn't what Judah's picturing. We'll get to that. But this is the example that Judah is setting forth in this chapter. We're seeing Judah as somebody who cares about other people, cares about Benjamin, cares about his father, how he's going to take this news, cares about, you know, the people back home that might go without, cares about his own family, and is willing to, you know, bear this burden, right? He's willing to even lay down his life as it were or become a bondman, become a servant. Look at Philippians chapter two, verse three, the Bible says, Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind. Let each esteem other better than themselves. Okay. And I think that, you know, obviously these are in order for a reason. He goes on and says, Let not every man think in his own things, but every man also in the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ, right? Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made unto the likeness of men, and being found in the fashion of man in humble self, and became obedient unto even the death of the cross. So he's saying, you know, Christ is our example. We need to let this mind be in us that we take on the form of a servant. Okay. And that's why he says in verse four, not to look every man on his own things, but also on the things of others, meaning other people's needs. Obviously we have to look on our own needs. We have our own responsibilities to meet, but, you know, we should be, have the presence of mind to look also on the needs of others. You know, look also on the needs of our brethren, right? And here's the thing. Verse three comes before verse four. If we can't get verse three down, then verse four isn't going to happen, and we're not going to follow the example of Christ. Verse three is, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Often the reason people don't want to serve or help other people is because they think they're better than them. They say, well, I'm not going to help so and so because they're pathetic. They're not as good as me. They haven't achieved this. They haven't done, you know, whatever. And here's the thing, you know, that some of that might be true. The people that tend to have needs, maybe they're the people that haven't succeeded in the world like others have. That would explain why they have a need. That would explain maybe why they're not able to meet their own needs or to do whatever it is, right? Maybe they have some kind of a mental handicap. Maybe there's some kind of a barrier there. Maybe there's just some kind of, I don't know, they're just something from their past or just the way life has gone for them has held them back, and they have not been successful or not as, you know, able as we are or as others in some area, right? So it's real easy to look at those people that have need and to say, well, I'm better than them. And the world would say, well, yeah, you are. They could say, well, let's compare our bank accounts. Let's compare our salaries. Let's compare our, you know, whatever, our mental, you know, abilities. You know, and maybe we do exceed those people in some areas. But, see, that's why you have to esteem others better than yourself. If you're going to be somebody that, like Christ, becomes a servant, it's going to require lowliness of mind, humility. We can't have an attitude that says, well, I'm better than that person. I don't need to serve them. Well, you know, consider the condescension of Christ. Christ condescended to men of low estate. Now, that includes us. We are men and women of low estate, right? And whatever condescension we have in this life, however we condescend to men of low estate, as we're commanded to in the Scripture, you know, whatever that disparity is, however great that gap is, however far, you know, we're willing to condescend to others, Christ has condescended far more than any of us ever could. We could kind of, you know, go around and stoop low to help other people. For the rest of our lives, we could find somebody so far beneath us that, you know, find the person that's the furthest beneath us and it still wouldn't even come close to what Christ has done in condescending for our sakes. That's why we have to let this mind be in us that was also in Christ. If people struggle with this, of being empathetic and caring about other people who maybe they would not esteem better than themselves, they need to consider this. They need to consider the fact that Christ condescended men of low estate. They need to think about the mind that Christ had when he came and died for our sins and gave us that example. So this is the example of Judah. Judah is just, you know, and I don't think it's anything that's that extraordinary. I think it should be rather commonplace for people to just kind of be compassionate towards one another. And the Bible says that, you know, the latter times the love of many shall grow cold. And that certainly is the case. People are becoming more self-obsessed, more narcissistic, more just involved, you know, are not really concerned with the needs of other people. It should not be said among God's people. It should not be, you know, an attribute of us. We should be people that are conscious of the needs of other, conscious of the brethren and willing to, you know, lay down our lives for the brethren. You know, and obviously, again, that's an extreme example. You don't have to say, well, if it ever came down to it, I'd push you out of the way and take that bus. You know, I would get hit by the bus. I would lay down my life for the brethren. But again, that talk is cheap. You know, if you can't, if you can't, you know, make the small sacrifices for the brethren, you'll never make the big one. Because, you know, if you really love people and cared about them, you know, you would, you'd make the little sacrifices too, right? You do the little things that, and then we would know that you're probably capable of the big things. Anyway, I'm kind of rambling at this point. Let's move on to the story. Again, this is just the example of Judah, right? Somebody who just said, hey, the blame be upon me. That's a very practical thing, right? He's just an empathetic person. He's caring about people, but he's also a picture, right? Of Christ and the willingness that he had to be a substitute, right? Or a propitiation, the Bible says, for our sins. So he says, you know, both we also, he says in verse 16, And Judah said, What shall we say unto my Lord? What shall we speak, or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants. And notice again, I don't know that they've had time to discuss this, like what happened if they've cleared Benjamin in their own minds, right? Maybe in Judah's mind, he is thinking, well, I don't know why Benjamin did that, right? I don't know. But it's interesting that in that verse, he's saying, we've done this, right? How shall we clear ourselves? We're guilty. And God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants, right? So you can see how he's kind of even willing to take the blame upon himself. It's a great picture of Christ, right? As the Bible says, he became sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. We are my Lord's servants, both we and he also with whom the cup is found. That's what he's saying there before Joseph. And then, of course, Joseph responds in verse 17, and he said, God forbid that I should do so, but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant, and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father. So again, you could see it in the story if you look for it. If Joseph's whole plot here was just to test his brethren, doesn't it seem like in verse 16 they just passed the test? If the whole thing was, well, let me see if these guys have changed, didn't he just pass the test of verse 16 where he said, hey, we're guilty, let us bear the iniquity, let me take this upon me? That would have been the proving of the test right there, wouldn't it have been? He would have said, hey, you guys have changed. It's pretty evident in verse 16 that Judah and these other guys have had a change of heart. No one's objecting when he says, behold, we are my Lord, we, all of us, me and my brethren, Joseph's kind of speaking for the group, we are my Lord's servants, both we and also he with whom the cup is found. What? We're going to be your servants. Right? That would have been, if that was the whole point, if that was Judah who was just testing him, they just passed the test. But then in verse 17, after, in my opinion, after having just passed the test, he says, Joseph responds, God forbid that I should do so, but the man in whom's hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant, Benjamin, and as for you, get you up in peace under your father. Right? So this is why my opinion is that Joseph is trying to isolate Benjamin and the Bible doesn't just say it plainly, but I believe it's showing us that in Joseph there is this turmoil. There's a, there's a, you know, yes, he's forgiving, but he's not willing to completely throw open his arms and reveal himself. Obviously, we know that's what happens, you know, at the end of this chapter. You know, after when Judah ends his speech, we move into the next chapter, we instantly see Joseph's reaction, okay, where he reveals himself. And we'll talk more about that next week. But, you know, this, this does, I believe, back up my theory about what's going on here. Get you up in peace under your father. Then Judah came near unto him. Right? So again, this is a picture of, we saw, we saw the practical application of Judah, right? Being an empathetic person, caring about other people. But now we're going to see the picture, what he pictures, his pleading, his intercession, right? He's coming near. He's coming closer. After Joseph has said, not so, we'll keep him, keep Benjamin, you guys go back in peace. Judah, it says there, he comes near unto him, right? So he's approaching the throne, as it were, and said, Oh my Lord, right? So you can see how he's beginning to beseech him. Let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my Lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against my servant, for thou art even as Pharaoh. You're like the king, okay? My Lord asked a servant, saying, Ye have ye a father or a brother? And we said unto my Lord, we have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, and a little one, and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him. So you have to really put yourself in Joseph's positions. You're hearing these words, right? And he's talking about you. He is dead. Well, I'm right here, actually, right? Because, you know, I'm sure it's not a spoiler for anybody in the room, but in chapter 45, you know, Joseph, right in the beginning, breaks down. The whole rest of this chapter is just Judah speaking, right? Him making this long plea, and there's so much emotion in this, you know, and Joseph is hearing these words that I think that's what finally breaks through, right? And just causes him to, he can't refrain himself anymore. Because of some of the things that are being said in this chapter. And again, as I started out, you know, a couple weeks ago, when we started going into the story, because it's several chapters, but it's one long story. Again, you know, you have to put yourself in these characters' positions. The Bible forces us to empathize with the characters, right? And it makes us a more empathetic people. That's what good literature will do. It'll draw you in, and you have to put the emotion, you have to put the feeling, you have to kind of fill in between the lines there if you're going to let this actually have an impact on you. And not just go, dude, why is he crying in verse one or verse 45? You know, like, because he's this big strong dude or whatever. Like guys will read that and be like, sissy, right? Because men never cry or whatever, right? We don't want to be whiners, right? But, you know, it's perfectly fine to feel emotion, feel strong emotion. Jesus wept, right? But, you know, you won't feel that. Look, I'm not saying if you read chapter 45 and don't break down in tears that you have a heart of stone or something like that. But I'm just saying, like, you know, if you put yourself in these shoes, like sometimes, and it's just a lesson for all the Bible reading. Any Bible reading you do, if you really get into the story, man, sometimes it really will move you. And you'll be going, what is this, you know? Or maybe not, you know, or maybe it's not even, you know, a weeping. Maybe you'll experience great joy, right? Or you'll experience heartache, sorrow, compassion. You'll feel things when you read the Bible, just like you'd read any other book. Like people read books and they feel things all the time. Like, you know, that's what good authors do. They draw you into the story, make you care about these characters and then either, you know, lift you up or tear your heart out or whatever, you know, depending on what kind of story you're reading. You know, and I'm just saying, because I don't want anyone's Bible reading, you know, to become dry and dull. You know, because sometimes people will read the Bible and say, well, that's it, you know, what else have I got to learn? The Bible is great literature and it should draw us in. You know, for me, it's like when you start reading Isaiah and Jeremiah. After you get done reading all of God's working throughout Israel and all the judges and all the prophets and all the back and forth and the northern kingdom. And then you get to the prophets and the way that they're speaking to Israel and to Judah and trying to, to me, that's heart-wrenching preaching. It's really hard preaching, you know, because they're really rip in face. But there's a lot of, you know, just it's just heartbreaking that that nation came to be what it is, right? That really doesn't have anything to do with this story tonight, but, you know, just an example of, you know, if we let the Bible move us, it will. But we have to put forth the effort and not just be like, you know, how many more pages have I got? You know, when can I get out of here? Let these words sink down into our ears and into our hearts. So, you know, that you could kind of get that sense here of what maybe Joseph is starting to feel when he's hearing these words. Right, this real talk coming at him. OK, we have a father, an old man, a child of his old age and a child of his old age, a little one. And his brother is dead and he alone is left with his mother. And thou saidest unto thy servants, bring him down unto me that I may set my eyes upon him. And when he said unto my Lord, the lad cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die. And thou saidest unto my servants, except your youngest brother come down with you, you shall see my face no more. And it came to pass when we came unto thy servant, thy father, we pulled these words unto my Lord. So, you know, if we're reading this, we can maybe begin to understand why Joseph's starting to have this visceral reaction in the next chapter, chapter 45. Right, this strong emotional reaction, because maybe it's starting to dawn on him what he's doing potentially to his own father, who he misses. Right, because is Judah, you know, obviously, whether or not Jacob would have died or not, we don't know. But obviously it would have been a great burden to him. It would have grieved him deeply because that was the last of the only two sons that Rachel, who he loved. If you remember the story of Joseph, he loved Rachel. He served seven years for Rachel, and then Laban did all that, you know, switcheroo on the wedding night, and he labored seven more, right, in exchange for Rachel and her sister. So you can start to understand, you know, maybe Jacob would not have died, right, but it's going to be a great sorrow to him. Judah's not just exaggerating here. Maybe he would have died, right? That's what he said, you shall bring my gray hairs down to the grave. Like, you're going to send me to the grave, sad and weeping. I'm going to die if something happens to Benjamin, right? So maybe that's kind of what's starting to dawn on Joseph, because again, my opinion is that he's trying to manipulate the situation to isolate Benjamin, and maybe he's just being a little selfish here and not thinking about the impact that it's going to have on his father. So when he's starting to hear Judah kind of just tell him how it is, it's starting to be like, oh, man, you know, I really want Benjamin. I really want to send these guys away. I love Benjamin, but I don't want to do this to my dad. You can start to see how that might have, you know, played out in his mind and in his heart. In verse 24, When we came up unto my servant, my father, we told him the words of my lord, and our father said, go again and buy us a little food. And we said, we cannot go down if our youngest brother be with us, then we will go down. For we may not see the man's face except our youngest brother be with us. And my servant, my father, said unto us, you know that my wife bear me two sons. Again, this is, again, you know the story. This is Joseph's mother that he's talking about. And the one went out from me, and I said, surely he is torn in pieces, and I saw him not since. I mean, these are powerful words in Joseph's years. So, you know, why the strong reaction? He's talking about his mother, right? And the psalmist said, you know, when he was trying to express, I can't think of the psalm, whether it was David or someone else. But in the psalms, the Bible talks about one being greatly bowed down for his mother. Right? Meaning after his mother's death. That has a powerful impact on people. When our parents die, when people that we're very deeply dear to, that has a strong, at least it ought to. You know what I mean? I understand we all haven't had maybe perhaps the greatest parents. But those of us that have been close to our parents and things like that, that has a profound impact like nobody else. Like no other death you'll ever experience probably. It has a profound impact. And I say that because that's what Joseph's being reminded of right now. That his mother who has died, and they're talking about him as if he's dead. And he's hearing what they said to their father that they are, you know, that he was torn in pieces. The one went out from me and I said, surely he is torn in pieces, and I saw him not since. And if you take this also from me and mischief befall him, you shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. So he's reiterating the words of Jacob. Now therefore, when I come to thy servant, my father, and the lad be not with us, seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life, it shall come to pass when he has seen that the lad is not with us, that he will die. So you can see how, why Joseph reacts that way. Because of this plea that Jude is making. It's maybe dawning on him that he's going to do great harm to his father emotionally, perhaps even physically. And that there's been a lot of sorrow and grief all these years that he's been away. People have been weeping and mourning and sorrowing for him, at least his father. Right? And now he's potentially going to add sorrow upon sorrow. And that's why I don't think he can go through with the plan. I think that's why at the end he has to just give up the façade and just break down and just forgive, yes, as he's done, but then truly just being willing to just let the past be the past. And understand that God meant this for good, which is the conclusion that he ultimately comes to. But I see that, you know, yes, it's Judah's words that we're reading, but if we do like we ought to, and try to understand the characters involved, we can begin to understand the impact that this might be having on Joseph. It shall come to pass when you see the lad is not with us, you shall bring us our servant father with sorrow to the grave. Verse 32 is where I'm trying to pick up. For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame of my father forever. Now, therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad. So again, this is a great picture of Christ. Him being the stand in for the one who was, you know, quote unquote guilty. We know he's not, but it's a picture. And this is exactly what Christ did for us. And again, I know this isn't anything new, but let's just, you know, think about it. Like, we should always be mindful of the fact that, you know, Christ has made a sacrifice for us, that Christ has laid down his life for us, that he's been, you know, took our place and paid that price. And he is one that is interceding for us even today. And if you would quickly just turn over Romans eight and I'll begin to wrap up here. Because ultimately, that's what's taking place in the story, right? You have Judah going to Joseph, who he says is like unto Pharaoh, like unto a king, an emperor, a ruler, and is beseeching and asking for mercy. He's doing what? In his plea, he's interceding on Benjamin's behalf, which is what we have today. We have someone who has made intercession for us, okay? That's what's going on here in the story ultimately. He's interceding. That's the picture of what Christ has done for us. He's made an intercession. As it says in Isaiah 53, which we read on Sunday when we were going through the book of Mark, which is prophetic of Christ, it says in verse 12, Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he hath poured out a soul unto death. He was numbered with the transgressors, and he bare the sins of many, and he made intercession for the transgressors. When Christ died upon the cross and laid down his life for us, he was interceding on our behalf. As it says in Hebrews chapter 7, Wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing that he ever liveth to make intercession for them. So not only has Christ interceded for us in the past through his death, but we all get that, but sometimes I think maybe we forget that Christ is still interceding for us. That he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Look at Romans chapter 8 verse 31, What shall we say to these things, if God be for us, who can be against us? Look, if Christ is on our side, if Christ is the one that's interceding for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, who is even at, this is present tense, at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Now, Paul is saying, I understand that you could say, well he's talking only about sinners that need to get saved. Yes, that's true. Christ does intercede for them, making intercession for the sinful, but he's still interceding for us as the saved even today. I believe that. That's why we cannot be separated from the love of God. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long, we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors, through him that loved us, through him that interceded for us. 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 creatures, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. That we have that confidence, we can say with Paul that we are more than conquerors, because Christ has interceded for us, and because Christ ever liveth to make intercession for us at the right hand of God. If you would, back up to verse 26. The Bible says, likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities. For we know not what we should pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. So the Bible is teaching us that the Spirit of God makes intercession for us to God himself. Because we don't know what we ought to, sometimes we don't know what we should pray for as we ought. We tell people to pray and the Bible says that we should pray. Paul, Jesus, others, all commanded that we ought to be people who pray, but the fact is that sometimes we don't know what to pray. We find ourselves in a situation, we don't know what the answer is. Sometimes you don't know what God's will is. And the only thing you can say is, your will be done. And the good news is that we still have one making intercession for us, the Holy Ghost, who brings it before God's throne through Christ who's interceded for us. And whatever it is that we're praying, it somehow kind of gets translated or whatever, or it's relayed to God as it should be. That's an amazing thing. He truly has given us all things. He that offered up his own son, he freely gives us all things. Even when we don't know how to pray, we just say, Lord, I don't know what to pray. I don't know what to say, I don't know what the answer is, I don't know. Somehow that gets through to God. And God says, well, here's what needs to happen. And God, I think, is just pleased with seeing us even just praying at all. Don't ever let a lack of understanding be an excuse to not pray. Well, I'd pray, but I don't know what to pray. Well, God does. And maybe that's what you need to pray. Lord, I don't know what to say. Maybe God will help you with that. You learn to pray by praying. If we pray and say, I don't know what the right answer is, maybe eventually we'll figure that out if we're praying. Maybe God will make it clear. Or maybe the next time we find ourselves in a similar situation, we'll say, well, here's how God typically handles these things. Verse 27, he that searcheth the hearts and knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints, not for the sinners, for the saints, according to the will of God. So we looked at some things about Judah tonight, practically speaking, how he was somebody that was concerned for his brethren. And I made my case for what's going on with Joseph. But the example is that of Christ. When it comes to the example that he's making, his plea is an intercession on the behalf of somebody else who is, quote, unquote, guilty. We're not, quote, unquote, guilty. We are guilty. And we have had someone who, yes, has interceded for us on the cross, but he ever liveth to make intercession. We should avail ourselves of that throne of grace. And you just see Christians so often just struggle through life, and they never make the right decisions, or they make the wrong decisions, and they just struggle, they never seem to get ahead, and they never seem to make any kind of spiritual growth, or they're constantly struggling with things. It's like, well, have you prayed about it? Sometimes that's the last thing we'll do, if ever. And really, it ought to be the first thing. We ought to be praying. We ought to be instant in prayer, as the Bible says. And we know we have such a great opportunity as Christians to go, as it says in Hebrews 4, boldly under the throne of grace. Right? The throne of grace. It's the throne of grace because that's where we get things we don't deserve. It gets where the blessings come from, from God. Every good gift and every perfect gift, you know, descended from the father of lights. Also, we go to the throne of grace and we obtain mercy. And mercy is when we don't get what we do deserve. And this is why I think a lot of people don't pray. It's because they have sinned in their lives, they're backslidden, they're not living for God like they should, so they don't even want to approach the throne of grace. They're just like, well, you know, I'm not right with God. Well, you know what the first thing you're going to have to do when you decide to get right with God is? Exactly. You're going to have to say, I'm sorry. And you know what God's going to do? Be merciful. That's why he says that we may obtain mercy. It's not like God is holding out on mercy. Like who? You want this? You know, like you do with your kids. You know, oh, you want this mercy? That's not God. God's like, you want mercy? Here. Here's all the mercy you can have. He's got more mercy than you need. God is ever merciful. God is long suffering. But you get that through prayer. And I think that's one thing that people, that's why they don't get ahead. Because they have sinned and they use it as an excuse. Well, you know, I can't pray. And you have not because you ask not, right? And yet we have someone who is interceding for us right now, the Holy Ghost. Well, I'd go pray to God to try to get right. But you know, I've sinned so much. It's been so many years of sin. It's been so long of sin. That I don't even know where, I can't even begin to count all my sins back. Well, just say like David said, my sins are more than can be numbered. They're like the sands of the sea. You know, and just say, remember not the sins of my youth, Lord. All of them, right? Lord, just forgive me for all my sins. You know, because sometimes people have this weird idea. Like they have to go back and like bring to mind every single sin. It's like, no, you'll never get up off your knees. You're going to be there all the rest of your life. You know, you're just going to be frozen in that position. You know, what we really need is for God to change our hearts. And we need to let God correct our attitudes and our assumptions. You need to correct the way we are. And make that change, okay? And find the mercy and find grace to help in time of need. And, you know, I think that people, I think if we're honest, we're probably in need more than we're willing to admit. You know, there's always that time of need. But I think that time probably comes around more often than we realize, right? And we're always in need. And we always need grace and we always need mercy. And the good news is that, you know, we have that access to that throne because of the fact that somebody has interceded on our behalf. And even if we don't know how to pray as we ought to, the Holy Spirit will take that prayer and make it right and send it to that throne and we'll get the mercy and the grace that we need, right? So that's, you know, a great picture I think of Judah in the story as somebody who's willing to step in and say what needs to be said to try to obtain mercy, to obtain grace from the ruler, the king, and apply it unto someone else. You know, it's a great picture of Christ, the Holy Spirit, of God, that God, you know, is somebody that intercedes on our behalf. Let's go ahead and close in a word of prayer. Lord, again, thank you for, Lord, your mercy and your grace that, Lord, is far more abundant than we even can ever comprehend, Lord. And, Lord, I thank you for your patience and, Lord, I pray you continue to help us to grow as Christians, to grow as a church spiritually, numerically, and, Lord, that you would help us all to be better Christians for having been here tonight. And, Lord, help us to be ever mindful, Lord, of that great throne of mercy and grace. And, Lord, help us to come boldly before it as you tell us to, Lord. We're commanded to come boldly before that throne and to find that mercy, to find the grace that we need, Lord. I just pray you help us to be like Judah in that regard, Lord, to be a people that take advantage of that access, Lord, to that throne that's been made for us, but also, Lord, to be a people that are mindful of those that are around us, our brethren, Lord, our neighbors, Lord, help us to be a people that are concerned with the welfare of others. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.