Famine & Desperation
When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you keep looking at each other? Listen,” he went on, “I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us so that we will live and not die.” So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he thought, “Something might happen to him.” —Genesis 42:1–4 CSB
As famine consumed the land, Joseph’s father, Jacob — still living in Canaan, encountered the same decision his grandfather Abraham faced so many years before: purchase food in Egypt or starve in the land of promise.
Awkward Family Reunion
The sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, for the famine was in the land of Canaan. Joseph was in charge of the country; he sold grain to all its people. His brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the ground. When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan to buy food,” they replied. Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies. You have come to see the weakness of the land.” —Genesis 42:5–9 CSB
As they bow before the Egyptian official, they unwittingly bow before their brother they sold into slavery all those years ago.
We’re told that though Joseph recognized his brothers, he treated them like strangers and spoke harshly to them.
A Dream Fulfilled
He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: There we were, binding sheaves of grain in the field. Suddenly my sheaf stood up, and your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” “Are you really going to reign over us?” his brothers asked him. “Are you really going to rule us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream and what he had said. —Genesis 37:6–8 CSB
Twenty years later, the dream has finally been fulfilled.
I think Joseph could resonate with the words of the Apostle Paul:
We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed. —2 Corinthians 4:8–9 CSB
Don’t give up on the vision God has for your life.
I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. —Philippians 1:6 CSB
Grappling With Guilt
“No, my lord. Your servants have come to buy food,” they said. “We are all sons of one man. We are honest; your servants are not spies.” “No,” he said to them. “You have come to see the weakness of the land.” But they replied, “We, your servants, were twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no longer living.” Then Joseph said to them, “I have spoken: ‘You are spies!’ This is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one from among you to get your brother. The rest of you will be imprisoned so that your words can be tested to see if they are true. If they are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” So Joseph imprisoned them together for three days. —Genesis 42:10–17 CSB
As soon as Joseph calls them “spies,” the brothers go into panic mode and try to talk themselves out of this mess.
It is upon this confession that Joseph begins to devise a plan… but not before having the brothers thrown in prison for three days.
On the third day Joseph said to them, “I fear God—do this and you will live. If you are honest, let one of you be confined to the guardhouse, while the rest of you go and take grain to relieve the hunger of your households. Bring your youngest brother to me so that your words can be confirmed; then you won’t die.” And they consented to this. —Genesis 42:18–20 CSB
This is going to cause issues… remember, Jacob didn’t let Benjamin go on purpose.
Then they said to each other, “Obviously, we are being punished for what we did to our brother. We saw his deep distress when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this trouble has come to us.” But Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to harm the boy? But you wouldn’t listen. Now we must account for his blood!” They did not realize that Joseph understood them, since there was an interpreter between them. He turned away from them and wept. —Genesis 42:21–24a (CSB)
Even though 20 years have passed since they sold Joseph into slavery, the brothers immediately connected their present plight with their past behavior.
Here’s the thing about guilt — it has no expiration date.
Weighed Down by Guilt
My guilt overwhelms me— it is a burden too heavy to bear. —Psalm 38:4 NLT
No Condemnation
I’ve got good news about your past: You don’t have to be defined it. You don’t have to try to deny it either. Jesus offers you a third alternative.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus… —Romans 8:1 NIV
Those willing to face the condemning truth about themselves and acknowledge it to God, responding to His lordship stand un-condemned.
because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. —Romans 8:2 NIV
Here’s the law of sin and death: When you sin, you’re stuck.
For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh… —Romans 8:3 (NIV)
That’s how the law works — it shows how short we’ve fallen.
… God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. —Romans 8:3 (NIV)
At the cross, Jesus took the punishment that you deserved — and I deserved — upon Himself.
And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. —Romans 8:3–4 (NIV)
You’re guilty because you did it, but not condemned because Jesus took your condemnation.
Summary
Today, if you are having a hard time forgiving yourself, here’s some good news…
- There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
- What the law could not do, God already did.
- You are forgiven. And you are free.
Christ took your weight of guilt with Him to the cross, there’s no need for your to carry it any longer.
It’s time to step into His grace.