His Brother's Keeper

up, follow after the men. And when you overtake them, say, why have you repaid evil for good? Is it not from this cup that my Lord drinks, and by it that he practices divination?

Now this silver cup is presumably the one that Joseph himself had used at the previous day's feast. And so the insinuation is that during the feasting, one of the brothers had stolen it. And of course, that truly would be to repay evil for good because Joseph had shown them such generous hospitality. Not to mention how foolish this would be. I mean, this is Joseph's personal cup. How quickly he would notice it had gone missing. But what do we make of Joseph adding, by this cup, I practice divination? Egyptian diviners would apparently fill cups with water and they would put a drop of oil on it. And then by the way, the oil would spread across the surface of the water. They'd divine interpretations of what God was revealing. And this is the kind of thing that's totally condemned elsewhere in Scripture. Deuteronomy 18 says that anyone who practices divination is an abomination to the Lord. So it seems unthinkable that Joseph was actually doing this. So it must be part of his ruse to conceal his true identity from his brothers. But even still, why does he bring this up at all? It sort of seems like an unnecessary lie. And so some, like John Calvin, think that Joseph was wrong to do this, that at this point Joseph just got carried away and kind of took his ruse too far. But I wonder if Joseph actually intended a sort of double meaning here. He does speak in a way that would be consistent with what his brothers might expect from an Egyptian ruler. He is maintaining a ruse. There's also a sense in which Joseph is practicing divination in a different but true sense of the word. See, of course, Joseph is a truly divinely gifted interpreter of dreams. And here, through this cup, Joseph is planning to expose and reveal his brother's hearts before God. And ultimately God himself will search and expose and deal with them through this cup being found in their midst. And so perhaps that's why Joseph tells his steward to say this to them. But at any rate, off the steward goes and that brings us to the second scene in the story. So number two, the brothers plead innocence. This is verses six through 11, the brothers plead innocence. So the steward overtakes them and I can only imagine how the brother's hearts must have sunk when right after leaving the city, right after feeling like they're home free, so thankful that they can go home in peace, they look over their shoulder and there's the steward, probably with who knows how many soldiers and men chasing after them. And then he comes and he says to them, why have you repaid evil for good? How could you steal my master's cup? And then notice how zealously the brothers defend themselves. They say,

why does my Lord speak such words as these? Far be it from us to do such a thing.

We would never do a thing like that. I mean, you might as well accuse a pig of flying or a fish of running. Far be it from us. And then they say, look, we just tried to return money to you. I mean, if we were thieves, we would have just kept that money. What kind of thief finds money and returns it only to steal money again? And of course, all that seems like a pretty good argument until you think about the fact that these same men had sold their brother, kept the money, and lied about it for the past 20 years. You know, how zealously we defend ourselves against false accusation, while so often turning a blind eye to other elements of the truth. And what if the next time you were felt falsely accused, you stopped and considered, what if my accuser actually knew the truth? You know, would that give them less grounds to accuse me or really more? And perhaps that might help us respond with more grace and humility. But instead, Joseph's brothers respond, I think, rashly. Look at verse 9. They say,

Whichever of your servants is found with a cup shall die, and we also will be my Lord's servants.

I mean, they're so confident that there's no way the cup is with them. They're so confident they're innocent. They're so ready to vindicate themselves that they just voluntarily call for the most extreme punishment on the guilty in an effort to try to prove their sincerity. And this actually plays beautifully into Joseph's plan, because now by their own mouths, they've already conceded that this is a crime money can't fix. There's no way if the cup is found, they can just return the cup and offer money to pay for the crime. No, as the steward says in verse 10,

let it be as you say. He who is found with it shall be my servant, and the rest of you shall be innocent.

So he graciously lowers the punishment quite a lot, but he agrees with them. Nothing less than servitude is required for this. It's as if he's saying, you say the guilty party should be killed and the rest of you become slaves, so I know you can't object to the guilty party becoming a slave and the rest of you going free. The penalty is already determined. Well, verse 11, it says,

then the men quickly lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack.

They act quickly because they're eager to prove their innocence. This sort of reminds me of Jacob when he's overtaken by Laban, and Laban accuses him of stealing his gods. And Jacob's like, oh, search all you want, and anyone with whom you find your god shall die. not knowing that his own beloved wife, Rachel, was actually the one who had stolen them. But in that case, Laban fails to find them. So then Jacob begins to berate him. He feels vindicated. He says,

what is my offense? What is my sin that you have hotly pursued me? For you have felt through all my goods, and what have you found of all your household goods?

That's probably what these brothers hoped to be able to say. But instead, we come to the third section of the story. which is the brothers confess their guilt. The brothers confess their guilt. This is verses 12 through 16. And so the steward begins his search, starting with the eldest and working toward the youngest. Interestingly, nothing is mentioned about the money that was again returned to the mouth of the sacks, but have to assume it was noticed by the brothers and probably would have made them start to feel uneasy, start to wonder if we spoke too soon. But sack after sack is searched and the cup isn't found. So you can imagine sacks eight, nine, 10 are searched. The brothers are feeling more and more confident, more and more vindicated, more and more close to freedom. Then the 11th and final sack is opened. Benjamin's sack. And the cup is found. And their hearts must have just sunk in the shock. The disbelief, the horror. I mean, how could this happen? And how could this happen to Benjamin? Of all of us, how could it be him? And amazingly, the Bible doesn't record a single word spoken. No protests, no argument, no blaming, not even the brothers talking to one another about what they should do. Just the fact that they tore their clothes, which was a drastic act of grief. I mean, remember, clothes were very expensive, but it was a public sign that their hearts were as torn as their clothing. And then in unison, without having to discuss at all, they all packed their donkeys and head back into the city together. Apparently not a single one of them even considered continuing home without Benjamin. That's in spite of the fact that the steward had just said the other 10 would be innocent. And yet in solidarity with one another, they pack their donkeys and return together. And then when they get back to Joseph's house, they fall on the ground before him. And Joseph says,

what deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination?

And again, consider the irony of this. These are the very men who had heard Joseph's true divinations, who had heard his dreams as a child, and they mocked them. They thought they could thwart them. You know, almost as if they had really stolen Joseph's cup. They thought that they could get away with that. But now here they are, prostrate before Joseph, fulfilling the very dreams they had mocked. And Joseph says, do you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination? Oh, the irony. Oh, the folly of thinking that they could outmaneuver God's prophet and God's plan. And then once again, Judah, the leader, speaks up on behalf of all the brothers. And he says, verse 16,

What shall we say to my Lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants. Behold, we are my Lord's servants, both we and he also in whom the cup has been found.

So they go from zealously defending their innocence to freely confessing their guilt. Judah here offers no defense, no protest. No clarification, wait a second, we did not steal this cup. He doesn't even beg for mercy. In fact, not only does he accept punishment, but on behalf of all the brothers, he actually requests a punishment 11 times more than the steward insisted. He says, we are all your servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup was found. Now why does Judah do this? Why would he welcome punishment for a crime he didn't commit? Why would he offer all the brothers when Joseph only asked for one? Why do none of the other brothers object? Judas says, we here. No brother's like, wait a second, speak for yourself. I'll go home free. They all submit to this. Why? Well, the key line is God has found out our guilt. You see, Judah knows that they're innocent of stealing the cup. But he also knows that they're guilty of selling Joseph. He knows that they could argue and protest and many of them escape personal punishment from this Egyptian ruler. But ultimately, all that's futile before God. You see, it's as if the Egyptian ruler sort of fades to the background and the reality of God and their guilt before him comes to the fore. And Judah and his brothers believe that it's God who has found out their guilt. And so they offer themselves as slaves, not really to, not to pay for the crime of stealing the cup, but it seems to pay for the crime of selling Joseph. You see what's being brought out here is that they feel the need for some sort of atonement. In chapter 42, God produced conviction in them. In chapter 43, God showed them his kindness and his grace. But what's missing is no atonement for their sin has been provided. There remains within them this awareness that some sort of reckoning must be made. That God is just and their sin is yet unaccounted for. It's almost like in a horror movie. When that thing that you've been hiding from finally finds you, it's almost like there's a sense of relief. I mean, for these brothers, guilt has haunted them, chased them, left them in suspense. And now Judas says, God has found out our guilt, so just make us your slaves. Let it be over, let us finally bear the punishment that God knows and we know we deserve. But instead, Joseph says in verse 17,

"'Far be it from me that I should do so. "'Only the man in whose hand the cup was found "'shall be my servant. "'But as for you, go up to your father in peace.'"

You know, friends, never have such kind words been like such a dagger in the soul. I mean, go to your father in peace. What peace? These are men who would find more peace as slaves in Egypt than in having to face their father without Benjamin. I mean, if Joseph will not have them as slaves in Egypt, where else can they go? But you see, this is also the climactic moment in Joseph's test. Because how will the brothers respond to this? Will they just slink off in shame? Will they run and hide? Will they return to their father with more lies, more deception? Will they respond as truly repentant and transformed men who have finally learned to love their youngest brother as a brother? And that brings us to the fourth and final section of the story. Number four, Judah offers himself for Benjamin. Judah offers himself for Benjamin. This is verses 17 through 34. Until now, Judah has been the spokesman on behalf of his brothers. But here, he begins to speak for himself. And in the background, we need to remember what Judah had told Jacob, his father, which had convinced Jacob to send Benjamin in the first place. Back in chapter 43, verses eight and nine, Judah said,

send the boy with me. I will be a pledge for his safety. From my hand, you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.

And now in the providence of God, Judah's promise is being put to the test. And in verse 18, Judah steps forward and he approaches Joseph and he says,

oh my Lord, please let your servant speak a word in my Lord's ears. And let not your anger burn against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself.

And then in a moving speech, Judah essentially says, if you will only take one of us as your slave, Let it be me instead of Benjamin. And what stands out most through this whole speech is Judah's love for his father. 15 times in 16 verses he says the word father. And his greatest concern is what would happen to his father if Benjamin doesn't return home with him. He says, verse 30,

if the boy is not with us, then as my father's life is bound up in the boy's life, as soon as he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die. And we will bring down his gray hairs in sorrow to Sheol.

He says in verse 34,

how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the evil that would find my father.

I mean, Judah's primary concern isn't even his own shame and failure. It's his father himself. And he tells Joseph, look, we would never even have taken Benjamin had you not insisted. And when we did, I became a pledge to my father for my brother's safety. So take me instead. And in effect, what Jude is doing is seeking to redeem Benjamin. The enslaver has become the redeemer. The very brother whose idea it was to sell Joseph is now the brother whose idea it is to take him instead. I mean, this is repentance. This is change. This is a man transformed by the grace of God. In fact, Judah's speech is so moving that Joseph can no longer restrain himself. After so much time of holding back the tears, Joseph cannot do it any longer. He bursts into tears. He tells all the Egyptians to go out from him. And he finally reveals himself to his brothers. And that's what we get to look at next week. But that's because this final test is complete. The brothers have passed the test, and they can now be reconciled. And the point for us today is that Judah is being his brother's keeper. He's keeping his word, he's offering himself as a substitute so the convicted party can go free. And in doing this, Judah's both demonstrating amazing repentance, and he's also pointing us to the greater Judah. to the lion who comes from his tribe, and to our older brother, the Lord Jesus Christ, who offered himself as a substitute for us. As I said at the beginning, the message is, be your brother's keeper because you are kept by Christ. And I would like for us to consider that more deeply as we turn to three points of application. And the first is this, peace requires punishment. requires punishment. As I pointed out before, how bitter and ironic were Joseph's words, return to your father in peace. And how poignant was Judah's request, God has found out our guilt, let us all be slaves. I mean, it's as if the brothers knew our secret sin requires payment. We can find no peace without it. I remember a parent relaying to me a story about a child who, after doing something wrong, actually wanted a spanking. It was like he couldn't rest without it. He knew he'd done wrong. He knew some sort of consequence was owed. He wanted the spanking to feel like his debts were settled and his sin was paid for. And you know, on some level, that's true of us all. We know deep down that when we sin, peace requires punishment. And that's not just a deception of human psychology. It's actually a result of being created in the image of God. Because God himself is just. And therefore it's always and everywhere a contradiction of God's very nature for sin to go unpunished. This is why God says

without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.

It's why the judge who allows a guilty person to go free is called an abomination to the Lord. And it's why when God proclaims his name to Moses, he says,

the Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But who will by no means clear the guilty?

As if in chapter 43, God was proclaiming the first part of that to the brothers, right? Three times they heard his mercy, his grace and his kindness. But here in chapter 44, we see that the last part of that is still on their minds. God is a God who by no means clears the guilty. And I don't think that tension is fully resolved in this narrative. In fact, even when we come to the end in chapter 50, after Jacob, the father, dies, the brothers again become afraid. Even after years of Joseph showing them kindness and demonstrating his forgiveness of them. Even then, they think maybe now he's going to take revenge. I mean, even then they're waiting. Maybe now our sin is going to be punished. They can't seem to escape the feeling that punishment is coming. Because we all know deep down that sin must be dealt with. But unlike Joseph's brothers, you and I can see with so much greater clarity how our sin is dealt with. You and I can know a peace that passes understanding even as guilty sinners. Because we can look to the way that God has provided the one and only true and perfect atonement for sin. You see, Jesus went to the cross to bear the punishment for our sins. So that they might be both forgiven and paid for. So that God might be both merciful and just, merciful and kind, and the just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. So that we might rest assured that therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. So we might no longer have to look over our shoulder, flinching in fear for the day when punishment would come. You see, we have the same relationship with our sin as a criminal who's already done the time. Who's already been convicted, already paid the sentence, already satisfied the full demands of the law. Because Christ satisfied the full demands of the law for us. He bore the punishment in our place. And friend, that means if you're here today and outside of Christ, You will never find true peace while your sins are unpaid for. You will forever be like Joseph's brothers, flinching in fear. The image of God within you testifies to the fact that a day of reckoning will come. And your conscience can be numb or your conscience can be guilty, but it can never be truly clear apart from the atoning work of Christ. But for those of us who are in Christ, This means that the devil may still accuse us, but we can know his accusations are baseless. Our consciences may still at times condemn us, but we can take it to the blood of Christ for cleansing. We may still at times fear the judgment of God, but you can look to the cross and know that the punishment has already fallen on him. Right, so peace requires punishment, but Christ bore our punishment on the cross for our peace. And that brings us to a second and a related point of application, which is that salvation requires substitution. Salvation requires substitution. Because you see, even if the need for atonement isn't fully resolved in this narrative, the method of substitution is clearly portrayed. In the providence of God, Judah offers himself for Benjamin in his place, which wonderfully anticipates what Jesus would do for us. Just think for a moment about some of the parallels. Judah gave himself in exchange for his younger brother. Jesus calls us his brothers. As we read earlier from Hebrews 2,

for he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source, that is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers.

In other words, Jesus became incarnate so that he might be an older brother to us. Judah offered himself as a pledge to his father. Well, Jesus offered himself to God as a pledge for us. He says,

for I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me, and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.

That was Jesus's mission to save each and every one of the people his father had given to him. And he pledged himself to his father that he would do this whatever the cost. Judah acted because he was motivated above all by a love for his father. Jesus likewise acted above all because of his great love for God. He said,

my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

And he says,

what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this purpose, I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.

Jesus went to the cross out of love primarily for his father and to glorify his father's name. Also, as we compare Judah and Jesus, we see a heightening. Because Judah offered himself as one who was truly guilty in the place of one who was actually innocent. Because Benjamin didn't really steal the cup, but Judah did sell Joseph. But Jesus offers himself as one who was truly innocent in the place of those like us who are truly guilty. Judah offered himself to be a slave to rescue Benjamin from slavery, but Jesus offered himself to die under the wrath of God to rescue us from hell. Judah offered himself to take Benjamin's place, but in the end, he didn't have to. Jesus offered himself to take our place, and in the end, he did. And friends, the point is salvation requires substitution. God is anticipating that. He's showing us that through this story. It's the only way. Judah had to offer himself to save Benjamin because Joseph left him no other choice. Jesus had to offer himself to save us because the justice of God left him no other choice. And therefore, it's not enough for us to just agree that peace requires punishment and then think, well, I can make a payment of my own. The whole point is to show us we need to be rescued by another. We need a substitute. We owe a penalty that we can't pay. Our sins demand a punishment greater than we can bear. That's why hell is eternal. We have not offended merely the ruler of Egypt, but the God of heaven, the one before whom every sin is an infinite offense. This is why the hymn writer says,

not the labors of my hands can fulfill thy laws demands. Could my zeal know respite? No. Could my tears forever flow? All for sin could not atone. Thou must save, and thou alone. Nothing in my hand I bring. Simply to the cross I cling. Naked come to thee for dress. Helpless look to thee for grace. Foul, I to the fountain fly. Wash me, Savior, or I die.

There's nothing that we could do to save ourselves. No peace without punishment, no salvation without substitution. But the Lord Jesus Christ has borne our punishment in our place so that we might be saved and so that we might know true peace. And so if you're here today as a non-Christian, look to Christ, trust in Christ. Just as we heard Ella confess earlier through her baptism. May you too come to receive and know the salvation that God gives as a free gift of his grace. And so that you too, in a far more profound way than Joseph's brothers, may return to your father in heaven in peace. Well now finally, I want us to turn to a third and final point of application. Number three, love requires sacrifice. Love requires sacrifice. Our first two application points have focused on Jesus's saving work on our behalf. Now I want to focus on how we should respond. As I said, the main point is be your brother's keeper because you're kept by Christ. We've seen how Jesus keeps us. What does it mean for us to keep our brother? Well, the main thing we need to see is that keeping our brother means loving our brother. And loving our brother requires sacrifice. It's not enough just to rejoice and be merry with your brother without begrudging his blessings. We have to love our brother even when there's a cost. Remember Jesus' words in John chapter 13,

a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.

Jesus is saying that we're called to love one another with a sacrificial love. like his, and that this is to be a defining mark that we are Jesus' disciples, that would distinguish us from the world, so that all would be able to know that we are, in fact, his disciples by the way that we love one another. Also, who exactly is the one another? Who is the brother that we're to keep? On another occasion, Jesus was told his mother and brothers were waiting outside, waiting to speak with him. And Jesus said,

who is my mother and who are my brothers?

And stretching out his hands toward his disciples, he said,

here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.

And the point isn't to let us off the hook from loving our biological families. We must be our brother's keeper there. But the point is we must also feel the necessity and the priority of loving our spiritual family and being our brother's keepers right here in the local church. Our church covenant says

we will watch over each other in brotherly love. We will pray for each other. We will participate in each other's joys and endeavor with tenderness and sympathy to bear each other's burdens and sorrows. We will humbly warn a brother who is in danger of falling into disobedience or error. We will speak the truth in love, be slow to take offense, and be eager to seek swift and lasting reconciliation.

My friends, these promises are easy to make, but hard to keep. I mean, these are things that are easy to feel like we're doing when it's just in the abstract, or when we get to pick and choose who we're going to do this for. But of course the test for Jacob's sons wasn't whether they could do this for some of their brothers. It was could they do this for Joseph? And then would they do this for Benjamin? And part of where having church membership and a church covenant is so helpful is that it focuses our responsibility in a specific way. It tells us these are the people that especially we are to keep and to lay down our lives for. We together are to live this out so that the world would know that we are Jesus's disciples and so that he might be glorified through us. So brothers and sisters, what might it look like if we were our brother's keepers more sacrificially here in this church? What if the way we cared for one another looked more like the way Judah cares for Benjamin in this story? Now, I'm already encouraged, and I thank God for the degree to which I do see this happening. I remember just a few weeks ago the Fullers had that moving emergency. How wonderful it was to see how many people rallied at the last moment to help out. Some taking time off work, one member bringing his own employees. Ona told me that their neighbors noticed, that the neighbors saw an unusual amount of people coming together to help with a need. And I hope in some small way it showed them that we are Jesus's disciples. I also regularly hear of members reaching out to other members in spiritual need and trying to be keepers of their brother's soul. These are members that could spend the evening relaxing and having fun, but they sacrifice that, sacrifice that to enter into the difficulties and the struggles someone else was facing. I see examples of hospitality, people reaching out to those who are new, those who are different ages, cultures, backgrounds, those who are less well connected in the church. And that means sacrificing your time, sacrificing your money, sacrificing your comfort, sometimes inviting the vulnerability of welcoming relative strangers into your own home. So I thank God for the ways I already see this taking place here among us. And yet at the same time, Which of us can leave today feeling confident that we're loving one another as Christ has loved us? Which of us don't have room to grow here? I mean, how quickly selfishness or entitlement or complacence can just begin to creep into our lives, leaving us so comfortable sacrificing so little? And just doing less and less to care for the needs of our brothers and sisters around us. Just turning a blind eye, thinking, well, surely someone else will do it. And so friends, no matter how familiar this message is, no matter how many times you've heard it before, I pray that it would sink into our hearts afresh today. And we're called to be our brother's keepers. and to show one another a love that requires sacrifice. And of course, as we consider how Christ keeps us and the love that Christ has shown us, the way that he has borne the punishment required for our peace, the way that he substituted himself for our salvation. How then can we look and think that's too much to ask? How can we turn a blind eye to the needs of our brothers around us? And so be your brother's keeper because you are kept by Christ. Amen, let's pray and may God give us grace to live this out together. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for your word. We thank you that though our sin is great, you have provided a savior. We thank you that you keep us, that you do not let us go. And God, how we pray that you would strengthen us to show this same kind of love to one another so that you would be glorified, so that all would see the glory of the gospel. And Father, how we rejoice that Christ is ours forevermore, that we can hold fast to him, that we can know we have forgiveness through his blood, and that we can look forward to the day when we are with you in Christ forever. We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.