Are you harboring a grudge against someone for something they did to you in the past? you may need a bigger view of who God is, how He works, and what He's doing. Today on Truth for Life, Alastair Begg explains how a clearer understanding of divine providence can help us let go of our grievances and rest in God's care. Ever since the eighth verse of chapter 42, and you may like just to look at it. We have been waiting for the moment to which we come in these opening verses of chapter 45.
Because it is there in the eighth verse of chapter 42 that Joseph first encounters his brothers after all this passage of time. And we're told there that Joseph recognized them. although they did not recognize him. And in all of the ensuing events of their back and forth from their land of their birth and into Egypt and so on. We have been waiting, as it were, for this whole matter to resolve itself.
So we come to it a moment in time. A moment in time. There are moments in time when it would seem as though the clock stops and the action freezes. And one has the distinct impression that as a result of what we are now experiencing, things will never be the same again. That is, for example, what people testify to when they are able to tell you where they were on the occasion of discovering the news of the assassination of President Kennedy.
or in saying similar things in relationship to the destruction of Space Shuttle Challenger. And there are moments in time for all of us. Personally, the birth of a child, the loss of a loved one. great moments of success. Big changes in our lives.
And while they may not be known to everyone, those moments are frozen, as it were, for us. They are a moment in time. And I know that when we get to heaven, if we have the chance to talk with Joseph and we say to him, you know, Joseph, in the great ebb and flow of all that you experienced in the journey of your life, tell me some of the moments that stood out to you. Surely he will say, Genesis 4. Forty-five.
And when I disclose myself, to my brothers.
Now let us look at this wonderful story here from three perspectives. First of all, from the angle of noting that it is a demonstration of human emotion and there are things to be learned from that. Then in noticing that it is an illustration of divine providence. And then thirdly and finally, in noticing that it is an expression of genuine forgiveness. Back actually in chapter 43 and in verse 30.
We have found Joseph struggling with his emotions in relationship to his brothers, particularly in the arrival of Benjamin. You know, that he had been longing to see Benjamin particularly. recorded for us that Benjamin actually arrives. We're told in verse 30 of Genesis 43 that deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. And he went into his private room and he wept there.
And he must have wept quite a bit because it was only after he had washed his face and come out that he was able to control himself and say, serve the food.
So there had been these private occasions, recorded and doubtless others unrecorded, in which he had let go, had given vent to his emotions, had expressed himself, had cried out. But publicly, up until this point, he had managed to hold himself in check. He was under control. But all of that is about to change. The dam is about to burst.
All of this pent up emotion is now raging at such a level that he knows he's not going to be able to stand it any further, and so he demands his privacy. He says, leave me. Everybody leave me except these men. And he demands his privacy because he knows now that in this moment he is about to disclose his identity.
Now the very fact that he now puts himself in a position where he is alone with these individuals must have begun to strike terror into their hearts. After all, this man had held their lives in his hand over a period of significant months now, even years. And they had been imprisoned as a result of his mandate. Then they had been discharged, then one of them had been kept, they had been dispatched, and all kinds of things had been going on, all of which made it very, very tenuous for them. And while there is no record of them speaking, we can surely imagine, without taking undue liberties with the text, that with their eyes they were looking at one another and saying, I wonder what is going to happen now.
What is this chap doing? And suddenly this enigmatic Egyptian prime minister begins to cry.
Now, we know the story, and so we have to try and get ourselves back into it, but they hadn't a clue with what was going on. Picture it, if you will. Here is this man in all of his power and all of his authority, an indication to them of the fact of his greatness and their smallness. They're left alone with him in the room and all of a sudden he bursts into tears. Not the kind of little women tears, you know, with the little hankies, you know.
Those little sort of little kitten tears. Not that. No, this guy is going hog wild crying. He is weeping and he is wailing, so much so that even the people that he has discharged from the immediate context, they hear him. And as they make their way away from him, they must have been looking back over their shoulders and saying to one another, what in the world has happened in the room?
What has happened to our master? Do you hear that? Do you think he's happy? Do you think he's sad? Do you think someone has said something to him?
What in the world is going on that he would weep and wail as he does? And the very fact that he is weeping and wailing and not saying anything would surely simply heighten the tension amongst these brothers and increase the sense of terror that they felt in their own hearts. What in the world is going on now? they must have said to themselves.
Now, the interest or an interesting thing in the course of this, and I don't want to miss little obvious things. There is a reminder to us here that there are times when family matters need to be addressed as family matters. In other words, without witnesses being present. If you have been well brought up, you know that you have. Family conferences, or you have family meetings, or whatever else it is, and no matter who's over, or who's staying over, or who's doing whatever they're doing, they are.
Out of here. Because this is a family event. And if you haven't established that as a practice, as bringing up your young children, then establish it now. Take my advice. The idea of disclosure to everybody about everything on all circumstances and in all events is a bad idea because not everybody is able to process the information in the same way and that was certainly true of these servants that he had got out of there.
If Joseph's servants had remained, then they would almost inevitably have found out the fact that these men who were his brothers had treated him so badly all these years ago. And in learning that and not being possessed of the same sense of godliness that Joseph had, the temptation for them would have been to have held this against these men immediately and probably over a long period of time. They would not be inclined to grant to these characters the same forgiveness that Joseph was about to show. And the injuries that had been done to their Lord and Master. they would find difficult to reconcile.
And so in dismissing them, that is these Egyptian servants, Joseph actually does everything in his power to save his brother's reputation. You notice that in passing? He's actually protecting his brothers.
Some might have said, what a wonderful opportunity to let everybody know what a bag of scum these guys are. After all, for 22 years he had lived on the receiving end of their vitriol, of their hatred, of their animosity, and of their jealousy. Why not have everybody in and just let them know? Let them find out why I'm crying. You want to know why I'm crying?
I'll tell you why I'm crying. And then you know, and then you can feel bad about it, and you can remember it when you walk past them in the bazaars, and you can stick it to them. And every time you see them, you can remind them of it. He doesn't do that. Why?
Because he protects his brothers. And it is a wise father, a wise husband, a wise leader in the home who exercises the same sense of protection, not out of a desire for undue privacy. but out of a desire for realistic privacy. Recognizing that there are some matters of family life which are simply matters of family life. Love covers a multitude of sins.
And in getting rid of these characters, he was gathering, as it were, a big blanket. They all got under a big blanket, he and his brothers, and they got everybody else out and they pulled the four corners of the blanket down and they were all underneath. And he said, Okay, guys.
Now we're gonna talk. This isn't for everybody's ears. Everything isn't for everybody to hear. And so he's in the grip. Of the most tender and powerful passions and emotions.
Joy. at realizing what is about to unfold as he reveals himself. Greece. As he looks into the time-laden eyes of his brothers who have gone through so much in these ensuing years, love for them. compassion as he thinks of them.
And as all of that conjures itself up into a great rising tide, it bursts the dam. of his self-control. Notice also in passing That tears are not dishonorable. to the bravest and the best of men and women. I don't regard it as a great compliment of anyone to hear that they, quote, never cry.
I'm actually more concerned about people that never cry. When someone dies and they don't cry, when there is pain within their home and they don't cry, they are probably fiddling on the fringes of repression. And their geezer will burst somewhere along the line. And God has given to us the ability to cry. Read the psalmist.
He's crying all the time. He's either playing tambourines or he's crying. I mean, he's filling up bottles with his tears. He's washing his bedclothes with his tears. He's drowning in his tears.
And then he's playing his drum and banging his tambourine. He's just living out life the way we live it out. That's why the Psalms are like a medicine chest for our souls. Good to go to them frequently.
Now He still hasn't said anything, right?
So all the brothers have experienced is into the house. Servants out of there. Left alone with this fellow in all of his Egyptian finery, And if you had been able to do one of those little side interviews, you know, where you took one aside, like on the edge of the 14th green in a golf tournament, you know, where they do that whispering thing? And you said, ah. How'd you how'd you think it's going?
What do you think is going on here? I don't think there's a chance in the world that any one of them would have conjectured what was about to unfold. That of all the things that might be able to be revealed, they could never have imagined in their wildest imaginations that the chap who was before them was about to say what he said. And so he manages to get a hold of himself enough to say two words. Ane.
Yourself. Must have dropped like a bomb. Did you catch that? Did he just speak in our language? Because after all, all of the interchange to this point had been through an interpreter.
He had never spoken to them in their own tongue. They didn't know that he could. He was an Egyptian. Why would he be dressed that way? Why would he be in the position he was in?
And now all of a sudden, he says, I'm Joseph. And they must have said immediately, well. That's interesting. And then he immediately follows it up and he says, Is my father still living? And in that whole experience of terror and mystery, he then goes one stage further to reveal his identity and he says again, I am Joseph, the one that you sold into Egypt.
Now they know that he is who he is. Because who knew about him being sold into Egypt? The Ishmaelites who carried him off, but it was a long time ago, and they were probably not around and wouldn't necessarily have remembered, they were doing that all the time. But really nobody knew except the people who'd been involved in the deed, God who saw from heaven and the individual who had experienced it. And suddenly before him underneath all of this Egyptian headdress and grandeur is the very one whom they had last seen on the back of a camel being dragged off by the Ishmaelite traders.
Small wonder that it says, and they were terrified. At his presence. Unable to answer. You know that experience of terror where you can't get any saliva in your mouth? It dries up instantaneously.
Sometimes when you have to speak publicly. They were now in the presence of the one whom they had hated with a passion. whom they had hated without a just cause. They'd stripped him. Dumped him.
Sold him. rejected him. And in the two-part movie that was made for television. if I recall it correctly. in between saying I am Joseph and saying I am Joseph The one that you sold into Egypt.
He takes, in the movie at least, he takes his headdress off. And suddenly as he takes off this great expression of his finery and of his grandeur, and as the brothers' eyes narrow and they look and they imagine, as with an artist's gaze, adding 22 layers of life to the 17-year-old teenager that they had bustled off into Egypt, suddenly it all dawns on them. and looking into their faces. Joseph must have seen their shame and seen their fear. all produced by the bitter memories of the actions of all those years ago.
And as he responds to them, what does he do? He speaks peace into their troubled hearts. Because he wants them to realize our second point. that all of the events of the past twenty-two years are an illustration. of divine providence.
They are an illustration of the fact that God is ruling sovereignly not only over the great cosmic issues of the universe. not only in the setting up and bringing down of kingdoms. but in the very number of hairs upon an individual's head, on the experience of a sparrow falling to the ground, on the very course and direction of rivers, on whether they're in full spate or whether they're dried up. And God, who has created the universe for His own purpose and glory, has been preserving His creatures, operates in all of the things that come to pass, and directs everything to His appointed end. And that underpinning understanding.
framed Joseph's life. And indeed, Joseph's life is the classic illustration of that truth.
Now I admit that there is ample mystery here for our minds to ponder. There is ample comfort upon which our souls can rest. Because what the Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes 3, made popular by the birds, admittedly in some quarters, to everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven, a time to be born and a time to die. Da da dun dun dun dum da da da da da dum da da da da dum da da da da dum. And everyone was singing along, not knowing what they were singing, assuming somehow or another that it had to do with fate or chance or the cycles of the planets or whatever it might be.
Similar to the other guy, you know, run like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel, never ending or beginning in a never-spinning reel, you know, like the circles that you find in the borders of your mind. Na na na na na. And so it all rolls in in people's mind. They don't know what they're saying about. What Ecclesiastes 3 is declaring is the providential overruling hand of God in all of life and all of human history.
And Joseph understood it. At least he understood enough to be able to respond as he did. And here is the great mystery of it. When Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery, it was in part to prevent him from ever rising to the position of authority and power. that his dreams had portended.
You remember his early dreams that he saw these sheaves bowing down. And it was a picture of the fact that his brothers would one day bow down to him. And so in order to ensure that that day would never come, they took matters into their own hands and they did what they did and sold them into bondage and slavery. And God in His providential overruling was dealing and using their own evil, responsible actions to prevent him from becoming this person in authority. God was using their endeavors to prevent him from becoming the person in authority to make him the very person in authority.
Now, you can stay up a long time at night trying to think this stuff out. And you may well do, it might well be a good exercise. in comparison to some of the other reasons we're tempted to stay up at night. You see, it's customary for us as men and women to feel. animosity towards those whose actions have caused us misery.
And to feel ourselves Favourably disposed, to those who have made our circumstances better. And that is why people Favor others. and harbour grudges. Because we are devoid in responding in that way. of a large enough view of who God is and what God is doing.
In essence, that we're missing the factors of providence.
Now this has not always been the case. In earlier days in this country, it was customary for people to talk about the happy providences of God. If you read some of the events of the Civil War, if you read, for example, some of the writings of Stonewall Jackson. Then you will find that it is frequently that he makes reference to the fact that in whatever. Business they are engaging, God is providentially overruling things according to His great purpose.
But in the day in which we live now, Men and women doubt that there is a God, and if there is a God, he's just a cosmic power. And if he's a cosmic power, everything is taking him by surprise. And he wakes up and reads the New York Times like everybody else and says, Oh, my, my, look at what's going on here. What am I going to do now? Yeah.
No, says Joseph, that is not the case. Joseph looked beyond the actions and the reactions of men. And he saw the hand of God both in his afflictions and in his benefits.
So he looks beyond his brothers to God. When he thought about his sufferings, and he looks beyond Pharaoh to God when he thought about his benefits. He said to himself, yes, my brothers have done this to me. But somehow or another Since nothing comes to my life but passes through his hand, God has chosen to make use Of their evil actions for which they are totally responsible. in order to bring about this end.
And since I don't have to keep, I'm not going to keep writing thank you notes to Pharaoh. and kissing his boots. Because while I recognize that in a human perspective, he is responsible for my position, nevertheless, he couldn't do a thing. Were it not for the fact That God, in His grace and in His wisdom, and in His providential care, inclined His heart in such a way.
Now, when you and I begin to depend upon divine providence in that way, it will allow us to endure our afflictions. without undue complaint. and it will allow us to experience our encouragements without undue pride. Think it out. Neither you nor I can breathe without God's enabling.
You're not breathing in your own right, are you? Who woke you up this morning? Do you really think it's because you did that postgraduate degree and you're so smart? That you're able to earn what you earn?
Well, it is in part. But ultimately God overrules all these things. according to His own purpose and His grace. Yeah. Could it be that your view of God is too small?
We're listening to a message titled One Moment in Time on Truth for Life with Alastair Begg. We'll hear the conclusion on Monday. You know, we live in a fast-paced world where multitasking has become the norm. The Truth for Life, we know that it's easy to get caught up in busy schedules and to-do lists, but our prayer is that the Bible-centered teaching you here on this daily program gives you a quiet break from the frenzy, a time to take a deep breath. reflect on God's Word, and be revived and refreshed.
I hope you're finding this study in the book of Genesis to be helpful in this way. And if you're in vacation planning mode, let me suggest a fun adventure that will be spiritually refreshing for you. Join Alastair on the Deeper Faith Norwegian Fjord cruise coming in September. This is an eight-day cruise that departs from Amsterdam and takes you through the beautiful landscape of Norway. Alastair will be teaching from the Bible throughout the voyage.
So gather friends and family or make new friends as you enjoy a week of worship and Christian fellowship. Travel dates are September 5th through the 12th. Find out more about the trip and book your cabin when you visit DeeperFaithCruise.com. Thanks for joining us this week. Hope you have a great weekend and are able to worship with your local church.
On Monday, we'll learn how the doctrine of Providence gives believers comfort, security, and humility. but it certainly doesn't absolve us from our wrongdoing. The Bible teaching of Alastair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life. where the Learning is for Living.
