King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34
Date: Monday, January 27, 2020
Chapters: Genesis 43-45
Message: Forgiving The Deceiver
Hello My Friend,
As I was reading the chapters for today I was thinking if there was anything from my past that I had ever done that left me saying one lie after another to try to cover it up, making things worse until I came clean. Oh, we are all guilty of telling a lie or two, but learn rather quickly the consequence of it. Some people do not grasp that concept, and are continual liars. Did you know that one lie can destroy not only yours and others lives, but your creditably forever? People do not trust liars because liars are deceivers. I know this to be true because every person I have known who is a constant liar has deceived me into believing their lies several times until I rid myself of them all together. Let me tell you, by the grace of God, we can find forgiveness and move on from those whom have deceived us, but the deceiver never moves on, they live with the guilt of their deception until they come clean and seek forgiveness themselves. “A sword is upon the liars; and they shall dote: a sword is upon her mighty men; and they shall be dismayed.” – Jeremiah 50:36.
Joseph’s brothers never got over the fact that they not only sold their brother into slavery, but deceived their father into believing their lie that he had been killed by a wild animal. Now, after twenty-three years, they meet Joseph face to face, only they had no idea who he was, all the while he was testing them fully knowing who they are. With one brother in jail and the others being told not to return until they bring Benjamin, they could not help, but fear that it was all repercussions of what they did to Joseph. Running out of food, Judah convinces their father to let them return to Egypt with Benjamin.
“And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother? And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down? And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise 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 not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever: For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time. And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds: And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight: Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man: And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.” – Genesis 43:6-14.
“then let me bear the blame for ever:” Judah wants to accept any responsibility should anything happen to Benjamin, stating that they have waited too long already and could have been there and back by now. When we take the focus off ourselves and start thinking of the needs of others, that is when we find the bravery to not only protect them, but take responsibility for their well being. “and carry down the man a present,” Okay, this always leaves me to question why they felt the need to go buy grain when they had all these things, and cattle to survive on. Then God reminded me that the grain became bread when all of this stuff would be scarce, and we need the bread of life to live when the famines come. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” – John 6:47-51.
Joseph’s brothers arrive with Benjamin, and are immediately brought to Joseph’s house. This scared them to death as they thought they were being brought there because they did not pay for the grain. Remember, Joseph had them put their money back. Their minds were put to ease a little bit when they were told that their money was handed back to them, and they brought Simeon.
“And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon. And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house. And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses. And they came near to the steward of Joseph’s house, and they communed with him at the door of the house, And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them. And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son. And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there. And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread.” – Genesis 43:16-19,23,26,29-31.
“fear not: your God,” How often does God bless us with something that we have not earned and we find ourselves questioning it? Now, imagine having a guilty conscious? Even the good things that happen are questionable to those whom have never come to terms with their guilt. “And Joseph made haste;” Joseph did everything to hold back the tears, he was not quite ready to reveal who he was to them yet, but could not bear to let them see him cry. One of the hardest things to do is face those whom have deceived us, especially family, let alone find forgiveness, this is something that only by the grace of God we can do. Now, after a lovely lunch, and all the brothers were reunited, they thought their worries were over, the next day, they gathered their things, paid for their grain, and was headed back home. Little did they realize, Joseph had one more test.
“And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man’s money in his sack’s mouth. And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack’s mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good? And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words. And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing: And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless. And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city. Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh. Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren. For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.” – Genesis 44:1-2,4,6-7,10,12-13,18,33-34.
“Wherefore saith my lord these words?” Can you imagine what they all thought as their bags were being checked? “We were with you? We gave you money, why would we steal from you? Who did this?” And Benjamin, he must have wondered why he was being framed as he was innocent of all of this, and of what they had done to Joseph too. “lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.” Judah could not bear the thought of standing before his father without Benjamin, he would rather be a servant himself than be the cause of death of his father. Joseph watching them down on their knees and pleading with him did not seem so much fun as in his dream. He finally reveals to them who he is.
“Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:” – Genesis 45:1,4-9.
“for God did send me before you to preserve life.” People are going to deceive us, loved ones are going to deceive us, we can find forgiveness through the grace of God. In fact, it is imperative that we forgive them if we want peace within ourselves. Bad things are going to happen, many people we trust are going to hurt us, but God always has a plan, and He will always turn that bad into something good. “So now it was not you that sent me hither,” God may not have planned it all out for Joseph to become a slave in order for him to become a governor to Egypt, but He knew it was going to happen, and used every one of the trials he faced to prepare him for the task, and blessed him tremendously through it. The story of Joseph and his brothers is a great reminder for me on how important it is to one; Confess sin. Two; Forgive. Three; Never lie to escape sin, and four; trust that God will use my trial to prepare me for a great blessing. God may never make me an official, but He did send me to preserve life by trusting me with the most valuable gift that preserves a soul, the Gospel. I may not give life or save a life personally, but I can be a voice for Christ, and teach the world that their souls can be preserved through Christ. “Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.” – James 5:20.
Today’s Prayer: God, I learned long ago that it never pays to lie, and only makes things worse if I do not fess up, and I thank You for forgiving and forgetting all my shortcomings when I accepted Your Son as my Saviour. As for those whom have deceived me, You have also taught me the importance of forgiveness, I may never forget what they have done, but I have overcome am a witness and testimony of how blessed I am through the trials I faced. Lord, Lead me and guide me, walk with me, and give me Your mercies and grace to endure every trial, teach me how to confront those whom have wronged me, and if there is something I have left out, reveal it, and help me let go of it once and for all. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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