Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Genesis

Genesis 43 03/02/03

Intro: The U.S. standard railroad gauge (distance between rails) is four feet, eight-and-one-half inches. Why such an odd number? Because that's the way they built them in England, and American railroads were built by British immigrants. Why did the English adopt that particular gauge? Because the people who built the pre-railroad tramways used that gauge. They in turn were locked into that gauge because the people who built tramways used the same standards and tools they had used for building wagons, which were set on a gauge of four feet, eight-and-one-half inches. Why were wagons built to that scale? Because with any other size, the wheels did not match the old wheel ruts on the roads. So who built the old rutted roads?
The first long-distance highways in Europe were built by Imperial Rome for the benefit of their legions. The roads have been in use ever since. The ruts were first made by Roman war chariots. our feet, eight-and-one-half inches was the width a chariot needed to be to accommodate the width of two war horses.

 Maybe 'that's the way it's always been' isn't the great excuse some people believe it to be. Still there are some who like things the way they were.

 The Duke of Cambridge in the late 1800's said 'Any change, at any time, for any reason, is to be deplored.'

 And Cumford's Law states 'Nothing is ever done until everyone is convinced that it ought to be done, and has been convinced, for so long, that it is now, time to do something else.'

 Change is inevitable. And we all handle change different ways. According to Howard Hendircks in his book 'The Monday Morning Mission', the church is made up of the following groups of people. Think about where you fit.

1. 2.6% are Early Innovators who run with new ideas
2. 13.4% are Early Adaptors who are influenced by the 2.6% who are Early Innovators.
3. 34% are the Slow Majority, they follow the lead of others.
4. 34% are the Reluctant Majority who don't like the changes but will eventually go with them kicking and screaming.
5. 16% are Antagonistic and will never accept change.

 Is it any wonder that it is often because of the 16% Antagonists that changes in many churches occurs so slowly.

 This morning we will see how Jacob and his family deal with the changes God brings to them.  It is my hope that as a result of what we see this morning, we will be better able to deal with change that come our way, both individually and as a church fellowship.

Read: Genesis 43:1-10

 Week by week the family food stuffs dwindled until they were almost gone. But to keep peace in the family, no one would bring up making another trip to Egypt. Why? Because they knew Jacob was dead set against it. Things were like they always were at the Jacob homestead...Jacob was protecting his current favorite son, Benjamin. And nothing would change that..or so he thought.

 Jacob finally suggests they go back to Egypt (w/o Benjamin) and buy 'a little food', like it was just a simple trip to the supermarket.  It was time someone did a little reality testing in this dysfunctional family. So, Judah approaches his father and confronts him with the truth. We can't go back w/o Benjamin.

 Jacob, like he had done so often in the past, places the blame for their whole predicament on his sons. What he basically said was, 'you  never should have told the Egyptian you had another brother..you should have lied'. That was the Jacob of old. It seems his Bethel experience hadn't changed him enough to do the right thing...consistently.

 While Jacob seems to be fighting the inevitable, Judah was embracing it. He took leadership in the family and was willing to be held accountable for Benjamins life. What a change. It seems he turned the corner of faith and was experiencing a spiritual change of heart.

Read: Genesis 43:11-14

 Jacob is an example of the 34% who are the Reluctant Majority. He makes the decision to go forward only after thorough convincing by Judah. But remember, Jacob always liked being in control and he still tries to control the situation by telling his sons how to handle the Egyptian. He tells them to take him a bribe. I'm sure he thought it  worked when he approached his brother Esau, so it will work for them too.

 Finally, the text reveals Jacob appeals to God. Or does he? Some commentators see Jacob as finally changing by placing his trust in God when he tells his sons, 'And may God Almighty grant you mercy'. I don't think so. This was not a spiritual change of heart. This was a last ditch effort to cover all his bases. Why do I say that? Because of what he says next 'If I am bereaved, I am bereaved'. What he was truly saying was 'If God can help that is great, but if I lose Benjamin, I guess it was fate.'

 Remember he started off my saying 'If it must be, then do it'. This is hardly a strong demonstration of faith. It is a expression of fatalism. Jacob saw this change as the final blow to a defeated life. Jacob didn't know this change would be the beginning of the greatest blessing he could ever imagine.

Read: Genesis 43:15-22

 Joseph's brothers upon arrival in Egypt are told they have been invited to lunch. Their consciences start working overtime and they fear this might be their last meal.  Remember, Egyptian prisons were often located in the basement of a wealthy man's home.

 Joseph loved his brothers and only  wanted to show them kindness. But their unconfessed sin only allowed them to see the  worst. So his brothers try to get an ally to plead their case to the Egyptian Lord. They approach Joseph's steward and tell him the story of the found money and of their innocence. Perhaps they are beginning to have a change of heart. It seems for the first time they were being truly honest.

Read: Genesis 43:23-25

 Do you notice a very different attitude in the steward than in the brothers? Fear, guilt and unrest was in the minds and hearts of Joseph's brothers because of their unconfessed sin.  The steward showed poise and confidence when he told them 'be at peace, don't be afraid, God has given you the treasure you found in your sacks'. And then  he returned Simeon to them.

 Joseph's steward was not a Hebrew. He had not been raised under the umbrella of the covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Yet, he knew and spoke of the One True and Living God. How did this happen?

 I believe he learned from Joseph. I think the steward watched Joseph as he lived his life and saw that what he did matched what he said. He saw a quality in Joseph that told him that Joseph's God was the one he wanted to follow. The steward's heart was changed by what he saw in Joseph.

 Let me ask a simple question. If people drew their attitude about God from yours, would that be a good thing or a bad thing?
One step further? If people drew their opinion of Jesus from watching your life, would it draw them closer to Christ or push them away?

 Perhaps its time for a change.

 Perhaps it's time to start opening our eyes to the incredible privilege we have to live for Christ so that others see him in us and glorify God.

 Perhaps it's time we stop looking for and wallowing in our problems and start enjoying God's blessings.

 But it takes a change in attitude. Joseph  and his steward made the change while Jacob and his brothers...well, we are not sure yet.

Read: Genesis 43:26-34

 It is interesting that Jacob's sons go to great lengths to bring all the best gifts from Canaan for the Egyptian leader, and he doesn't even notice or comment on them. What he is interested in is Benjamin and the spiritual well being of his brothers. And seeing them all together again overwhelms him with compassion and he has to leave the room to have a good cry.

 When he returned he didn't want his emotions to cloud his desire for their spiritual well being. Joseph wanted to be certain if there was true spiritual change in the lives of his brothers. So another test of their hearts and actions. Notice Joseph gives Benjamin 5 times the amount of food he gives his brothers. Benjamin was now Jacob's favorite as Joseph had been. How would the brothers react? What would they do, Joseph wondered? Had they really changed? The text says 'They feasted and drank freely with him.'  They said nothing about or to Benjamin concerning his favored status. God seems to have changed their hearts. I am sure that was what Joseph was hoping. There will be one final test and we will look at that next week.

Conclusion
 Sir Isaac Newton's 1st Law of Motion states 'Everything continues in a state of rest unless it is compelled to change by forces impressed upon it.'

 Do you see the changes that were taking place in Joseph's brothers?  The changes God was initiating?

1. They felt sorry for what they had done to Joseph
2. The sons who had lied to their father are now telling him the truth about a bad situation.
3. The brothers who had previously acted with lies are now seeking to be honest men before Joseph.
4. The brothers who hated Joseph (Jacob's  favorite) are now protecting with their lives Jacob's new favorite son, Benjamin.

 These changes just didn't happen. God intervened, God interrupted their lives to make them into the men He wanted them to be. And they began to accept the change and run with it as we will see in the next few chapters of Genesis.

 How do we deal with change?  The wisest way is to recognize that change is inevitable and accept it. Change can and should be embraced with delight and enthusiasm. While at the same time holding on to that which is still profitable from the past.

 All change must be seen in the proper context and I think the steward best represented it when he said 'Peace be with you'  He was reminding Joseph's brothers and us that in the midst of the certainty of change there remains one constant, God who changes not. He was their God and He was the God of their father. He is the God who does not change, generation after generation.

 To say, 'Not I, But God' then to 'Arise and Go' demands  an acceptance of change in your life.
 
 What then needs to change in your life so that you can say  'Not I, But God'?

 What needs to change in your life so that you can then 'Arise and Go' with God this week?