20260927 Genesis 42:1-45:25a The Gospel According to Judah

Paul wrote in Rom 15:4, "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." This has been on of my guiding principles for Gen 37-50. How do we honor Gen 37-50 in such a way that we honor the ancient author, and as God’s people we experience Rom 15:4, we receive instruction, that that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

The story of Joseph began with his brothers throwing him in a pit in Genesis 37. Where we left off in Genesis 41, Joseph was in charge of saving the world! In our text, Genesis 42-45, Joseph saves his family. In these chapters, Joseph recreates the circumstances of his betrayal in Genesis 37 to test his brothers. This allows Joseph to see that his brothers have changed.

The brother who stands out in this testing is Judah. Earlier, Judah was the leader of the brothers. It was Judah’s idea to sell Joseph into slavery (Gen 37:26). Genesis 38 and 39 contrasted Judah’s rotten character with Tamar and Joseph's righteousness with Potipher’s wife. Now, in this account, Judah acts honorably throughout. The same way Joseph in Gen 39-41 was tested, humbled, and elevated, now, Judah is tested, humbles himself, and will be elevated. The same way Joseph offers us a picture of Christ's redemption by being elevated following humiliation, so it is with Judah. Judah humbles himself and offers himself up for others. His humiliation leads to his elevation. It is through the tribe of Judah that the Messiah will come. It is through Judah that all the families of the world will be blessed. Judah's loving sacrifice for his brother Benjamin, for the sake of his father, demonstrates his transformation and foreshadows the sacrificial love of his descendant Jesus Christ towards us.

In Genesis 42-45, Judah and his brothers pass the Genesis 3-like test, Judah humbles himself, and he and his family end in a new Eden-like sanctuary in Egypt during the flood-like famine. For us, this account offers a picture of God’s kindness and steadfast love in showing love to underserving sinners with the invitation back to Eden following our sin. This story offers us the pattern of redemptive history and our salvation in Christ.

While the ten brothers are being tested and they all end up safe in Egypt, I’m going to focus on Judah. We will see: Judah’s Test, Judah’s offering of himself, and Judah’s Reward in Edenic-Goshen.

First, we see Judah’s Genesis 3-like Testing.

Genesis 42

This is a summary of Genesis 42.

While Egypt, under Joseph, is full of food, the rest of the world is suffering from the famine. Jacob, who is in the land of Canaan, sends his sons to Egypt for food. So far, Jacob has not changed. He had a favorite wife, Rachel, then a favorite son, Joseph. Now, he has a new favorite son, Benjamin. While he sends ten of his sons to get food, he keeps his favorite son, Benjamin, to keep him safe.

Once they arrive in Egypt, Joseph recognizes his brothers, but they do not recognize him. He puts them through a test, by recreating the circumstances of their betrayal of him that occurred in Genesis 37. Joseph accuses his brothers of being spies. When the brothers plead their innocence, Joseph asks them to prove their words about their family were true, by bringing Bejamin, their youngest brother to Egypt.

The following parallels between Gen 37 and 42 show that Joseph is recreating the circumstances of Genesis 37 to test them. In Genesis 37, Jacob practiced favoritism keeping his favorite sons while the other 10 were working for him. So it is again in Genesis 42. The ten brothers are dealing with their father’s favoritism. In Genesis 37, after selling Joseph in Egypt, the brothers ate food (Gen 37:25) and had money from sale of their brother (Gen 37:28). By the end of Genesis 42, Joseph asks that they leave Simeon behind as a pledge to guarantee they will return with Benjamin. Joseph gives them food and secretly puts their money back in their bags. So like in Genesis 37, the brothers have food and money, and they have to return to their father to deliver a report about a missing brother.[i] Joseph recreates the circumstances of his betrayal to give his brothers the opportunity to get it right. He tests to see if they have changed. This time, they passed the test. When they report back to their father, they tell the truth. Instead of blame-shifting, they recognize their guilt concerning Joseph. In Gen 42:21, they say to each other, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” This time they want to save their brother bound in Egypt.

All along, while Joseph was harsh with his brother publicly, secretly, he cared for them. According to Gen 42:25, he filled his brother’s bags with grain, he secretly returned their money and offered provisions for their journey. When the brothers found the money, they were afraid, probably that they would be accused of stealing it. When they return to Jacob without Simeon, Jacob blames them for losing another brother.

Application: Obey the Gospel!

I find this Genesis 42 stressful. It makes me wonder how I would, in Joseph’s shoes, treat a group of 10 abusers who left me for dead. Then from the brothers’ perspective, I imagine the stress they felt after finding the money. I would also feel helpless in the face of Jacob’s accusations. The main point of Genesis 42 is that Joseph tests his brothers to see if they have changed.

Genesis 42 stresses me, but my stress is not Joseph's stress. His test of Judah and his brothers is the offer of a second chance. This is a second chance they do not deserve. God has given Joseph the ability to see his own suffering and his abusers with Gospel eyes. God gave him a dream to reveal he would rule over his brothers. God protected Joseph through hardship so that he would save the world. God used his brothers’ evil to offer salvation for the world.

There is a concept Dan Allender calls “Redeemed Heartache.” It is when we see that God uses our suffering to shape us into a people that helps others, in a way that would not have been possible, had we not suffered. This concept is summarized in the Joseph story, with Gen 45:5, "Do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you."

Beyond the betrayal of his brothers, Joseph sees what God sees. With this perspective, Joseph can extend care to his enemies. Joseph’s suffering and care foreshadows the ministry of Jesus. Jesus was rejected by his brothers. His enemies practiced deceit against him, but all along it was God's plan to use their evil to offer forgiveness to his enemies.

Love for enemies is at the heart of the Christian lifestyle. Paul speaks in 2 Thes 1:8 of obeying the gospel. The Gospel is first good news of who Jesus is and what he did and does. It is the good news of God’s saving reign that offers the forgiveness of sins in Christ for those who repent and believe.

We also must do what Paul calls, obeying the gospel. Joseph obeyed the gospel. He suffered by the hand of his enemies for the sake of his enemies, then he continued to love them.

We have a God who loves sinners, now we obey the Gospel.

We must keep in step with the Gospel. We don’t treat our enemies on the basis of how they treat us. This is the natural way of acting. But we treat those who harm us, on the basis of how God treats his enemies. He loved us, so we love. Joseph loves family who betrayed him so we must do the same.

We must love those who hurt us. We must forgive. We must bless and not curse. Jesus calls Christians to pray for those who hurt us. The command does not depend on our enemies’ repentance. We pray because God commands us to.

I love this, in theory. In practice it is such a struggle. In the last few years, I have experienced a betrayal. In short, in my opinion, my vulnerability was weaponized against me. I know I need to forgive, I know I need to bless, I know I need to pray. I also feel like my heart has been hardened. I wonder if because of this, I’m less open with people in the fear of being hurt again. I know it’s silly, I know it’s prideful. I respond to other people’s sin as a sinner who sins.

When I see Joseph’s love for his brothers, I see that I fall short. The call of a Christian is to project and display selfless love to enemies. It will continue to be a struggle, but this is want I want for all of us.

I’ve met children whose parents wanted to abort them. It is a horrible thought to live with. It needs lots of care. Sometimes some relationships will never be mended on this side of heaven, but the call to Christians is to pray, even for a parent who wanted to harm us. Children of messy divorces who feel betrayed by a parent who seems more interested in starting a new family, are called to pray for that parent. Younger siblings who were physically bullied by an older sibling, and may still have bitterness in adulthood, must pray for their sibling. God shows this kind of love towards us. To obey the Gospel is to love in return in ways that won’t make sense to the watching world because we are captivated by God’s love for his enemies. I offer these examples as applications. But this is never to be done alone, without deep care and support for the harm we have endured.

For those of us who feel more like the perpetrators like Joseph’s brothers rather than the victim like Joseph, obeying the gospel means believing that such a love, that forgives enemies, you really exists. I hope that you and I will not only believe you have received that love with God, but also experience the embodiment of God’s love and forgiveness and welcome in the church. We need to be a church, The confesses sin, and a church that welcomes sinners, as fellow sinners who have been forgiven. This was Judah’s test, because Joseph offered his brothers a second chance.

Second, in Gen 43-44, Judah offers himself as a Substitute.

Genesis 43-44 are about a second test that leads to Judah offering himself up to save Israel. Genesis 43 begins with Judah putting his life on the line to save Jacob and his family. Gen 44 ends with Judah’s intercession on behalf of Benjamin to Joseph.

Genesis 43-44

This is a summary of Genesis 43-44.

In Gen 43:1-15, time has passed, Jacob's family, in the land of Canaan, have run out of food. Jacob sends his sons back to Egypt to get more food. Judah reminds Jacob of Joseph’s request. If they are to return, Jacob must let them take his favorite son, Benjamin.

First Jacob refuses, but Judah offers himself as a pledge for Benjamin’s safety. In Gen 37:25, the Ishmaelites, who brought Jacob’s favorite son to Egypt, carried gum, balm and myrrh. Now, in Gen 42:11, as the brother take Jacob’s new favorite son to Egypt, among what Jacob gives them is gum, balm, and myrrh. These details set up Joseph’s second test with the same circumstances as in Genesis 37.

In Gen 43:15-25 the brothers arrive. They are afraid because of the money that was left in their bags. But Joseph just says, “Peace to you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks for you. I received your money.” Joseph brought Simeon out to them. In Gen 43:26-34 they feast together. Joseph shows favoritism towards Benjamin by giving him 5 times more food to recreate the circumstances and favoritism of Genesis 37.

Now, for the second test. The brothers came back for one of theirs, coming back for Simeon, but would they do the same for their father's new favorite son? In Gen 44:1-2, Joseph gets his brothers’ bags filled with food, and like he did the first time, he put their money back in their bags. In addition, Joseph puts his silver cup in Benjamin’s bag.

Following the brother’s departure, Joseph sends a man after them to accuse them of stealing his cup. In disbelief, the brothers say, may the one who took the cup be put to death, and the rest of us, will be servants. They find Joseph's cup in Benjamin’s bag (Gen 44:12).[ii]

In Gen 44:30, Judah says that if they do not bring back Benjamin, their father will die. In Gen 44:33, Judah says, “Please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers.” This is substitutionary language.

We have already seen this substitutionary language in Gen 22:13, when Abraham took a ram and offered it up as a burnt offering “instead of his son.” This language is used in Isaiah 53 about the suffering servant’s prophesying the work of Jesus. This is Isaiah 53:12, “Because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession “Instead of” or “on behalf of” the transgressors.

With this offer of being a substitute, Judah’s transformation is complete. Judah went from being the one whose idea it was to sell his father’s favorite son as a slave. He now offers to take the place of his father’s favorite son.

Application

Genesis 37-50 is a fitting conclusion to the book. Genesis 1-3 introduces God’s plan for the world, our sin problem, and God's solution with the promise of a savior. Genesis 1-3 only find their right solutions in the person of Jesus, but the way Jesus fulfills our sin problem and saves the world is set up in the rest of Genesis. After sin enters the world God promises to save the world and restore Eden. The lives of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, offer patterns of salvation that reappear in the lives of the sons of Jacob.

This narrative of the sons of Jacob is written with groups of two. Joseph had two dreams, he was thrown in 2 pits. There were two dreams in the prison, Pharaoh has two dreams. Joseph told Pharaoh that the two dreams are one. In the same way there is a sense that the two are one with Joseph and Judah. While it seems that Joseph is the main character of these chapters, for now, the two are one. Both Joseph and Judah offer together the picture of Christ's redemptive work. Joseph the righteous one was elevated on high, he had his Genesis 3 like test, past, was thrown in a pit, before he was exalted on high to rule the world and save the world.

Now, Judah offers a picture of self-sacrificial love, and the theme of a substitute.For us now, this narrative of Genesis does a lot more than provide an origin story for the people of Israel. It teaches us, the ways in which God operates that we would have greater confidence in Christ's salvation.

Following Judah's act of sacrificial love, we expect to see more of this kind of love to accomplish God's purposes. While Judah interceded for Benjamin and offered himself as a substitute, Jesus is our substitute. The book of Isaiah anticipates a future descendant of Judah who will offer himself as a substitute.

Isaiah 53:5-6 reads, "But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

The New Testament speaks of Jesus’ work using substitute language. Paul writes in 2 Cor 5:21, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 1 Pet 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—

Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

The wage of sin is death, but the free give is eternal life.

These verses teach:Jesus is our substitute, Jesus became sin, Jesus took our sin, Jesus suffered for our sin, Jesus was put to death for our sin, Jesus became a curse for us, Jesus gave his life for us. Jesus acted on our behalf so we have peace, healing, righteousness, redemption. It is this account in the life Judah and his offering to take the place of another that sets the tone for the ministry of the Lion of Judah, our Lord Jesus Christ. Judah passed the test. Judah offered himself. He offers the pattern of how his descendant will save the world.

Third, in Genesis 45:1-25a Judah’s Reward and our invitation to Eden

Text

Judah just offered to take his brother’s place and now we are in Genesis 45 for Judah’s reward. It is almost like Joseph can see in Judah's offer of substitution, A gift he would offer him, if he was in Benjamin's shoes. Joseph cannot control himself anymore. He makes himself known to his brothers.

He says in Gen 45:4-5 “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.”

Joseph tells his brothers to bring Jacob to Egypt with the rest of the family and their possessions. When Pharaoh learned everything that had happened, according to Gen 45:18, he offered them the best of the land of Egypt, where they will eat the fat of the land. This place, Goshen, is the word “Garden” in Hebrew, with one extra letter.

We saw last week that there were parallels between Noah's flood and the famine. Noah's Ark kept Noah’s family safe during the flood. Now, Joseph offers an ark-like sanctuary to his brothers.

In Gen 45:10, Joseph says, “You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have.”

This invitation to get their children and bring their animals this sounds like God’s words to Noah in Gen 6:18-19. In Gen 45:7, Joseph speaks of a remnant who will be saved from the famine (Gen 45:7) which was used of Noah and his family in Gen 7:23. The best of land of Egypt where they will enjoy abundance is an echo back to Eden. In the midst of a famine, Jacob and his family will known abundance.

Application

We see that following the first sin and the banishment from the garden of Eden, the Eden imagery is never lost in the bible. While texts like Isaiah 65 and Rev 21 promise New Eden and New Creation, before we get there, the theme of Eden is recurrent.

The original picture of Eden was one of delight and abundance, where everything felt right. God dwelled with man. The man and the woman were naked and not ashamed. The land provided in abundance for all their needs. There was rest. Once Eden is lost after the first sin, there are hints that Noah had a little Eden made of floating trees with animals, and food, and protection. The Tabernacle is a picture of Eden. The Promised Land is portrayed as a land flowing with Milk and Honey where Israel will find rest from their enemies is like a new Eden. These patterns of Eden in a chaotic world are most fulfilled in Christ.

The life of a Christian continues to be a struggle until the end. But on account of our substitute, we enjoy Eden in Christ, today. The elements of a relationship with God, restored human relationships, inner peace and freedom from shame can all be found in part in Christ. So we too can see this picture of the enjoyment of abundance during a famine and think of the abundance and Eden that we enjoy in Christ.

Christianity is more that correct doctrine and correct behavior. While we continue to suffer, life in Christ allows us to enjoy the Edenic gifts today. We may continue to wrestle with the existence of an all-powerful and all good God who allows suffering. We may at times be overcome by depressive feelings. We may feel disconnected from others and the world around. Jesus' promise of Eden comes with the promise of the experience today of the four-fold harmony of Eden – which is Harmony with God, within ourselves, others, and with the creation. No matter how hard life feels, the promise of Eden for Edenic-relational healing is available. Relationship with God is available, God’s church offers the possibility of our harmony with others, this does not mean that clinical level depression will necessarily go away in this life time, but harmony with God and others increases our joy and well-being. This is an invitation and promise to those who suffer in the church. This is not a promise to make suffering disappear but an invitation to enjoy deep relationships in the midst of suffering to enjoy Eden today in anticipation of the Eden to come.

Joseph invited his family to enjoy Edenic abundance during the destructive famine. In a broken world, we taste the abundance of Eden in Christ.

Conclusion

With Genesis 37-50, we receive instruction, that that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

The book of Genesis is so much more than a history book. Genesis 37-50 offers us so much more than the origin of the nation of Israel with some moral applications. When we connect the dots across the stories, we find a gospel presentation with gospel applications for Christians today.

We know how the story ends with Jesus, now we can read Genesis 42-45 and be reminded that Joseph's forgiveness of his brothers points to God's love for us while we were enemies. We must now love our enemies. Judah was tested and humbled himself. Now, we have one greater than Judah who offers himself for us and the world. Judah’s reward of Goshen was a place of abundance during the famine, but we now enjoy true Edenic life in Christ.

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[i] Like the test in Genesis 3, the brothers came for food, they are blind to Joseph's identity. They are warned about life and death. When they see their money in their bags, they say, “What is this that God has done to us?” echoing God’s word’s to Eve, “What is this that you have done?” in Gen 3:13.

[ii] In Gen 44:15, Joseph asks that question that is found in many of the Gen 3 replays, “What is this you have done?” Originally found in Gen 3:13.