(Genesis) Genesis 43:1-15

But wait just a minute, that brings us now to chapter 43, and we come now to what I consider the most dramatic section of the Word of God. Well, maybe I ought not to put it quite like that. Let me say of the book of Genesis, but I know of nothing that is quite as moving as the appearance of Benjamin now before Joseph.

And the thing that brings them down in the land, again, is the seriousness of the famine. If the famine had lifted, I think Simeon would have spent the rest of his life in jail down in the land of Egypt, or at least until his brother released him. But the famine, verse 1 of chapter 43 of Genesis now, and the famine was sore in the land.

And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food. We'll starve to death if you don't go down to Egypt. Now listen to Judah, and Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us.

Who is the man? Well, the man here is Joseph, their brother, but they don't know it. The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. If thou wilt send our brother with us, we'll go down and buy thee food.

But if thou wilt not send him, we'll not go down. For the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. Well, it was just a cut-and-dried proposition, friend.

Either they take his brother or else they don't go, and it's just as simple as that. And Israel said, verse 6 now, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother? Now poor old Jacob, he's really frustrated. He says, Why in the world did you tell the man in the first place that you even had another brother? Well, of course, he would have known it anyway.

So we find here poor Jacob wishes they'd kept their mouth shut. Verse 7, And they said, The man asketh straightly 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? They're very reasonable about it.

They said we were not going to tell him everything, but he kept probing us. In fact, the matter is, he was going to get the information out of them, you can be sure of that. Now will you notice, verse 8, 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. I'll stand for him. For 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 forever. You and I have a surety today, friends, and he came from the tribe of Judah, the Lord Jesus. He took my place and became my surety.

He took my place and paid my penalty. I wasn't able to deliver to God. I wasn't able to meet his standard.

I wasn't able to come up to his level, but the Lord Jesus stepped in and became my surety. He gave his life for me. May I say what a picture we have here? Then let me bear the blame forever, for except we had lingered, surely now we'd return the second time.

We could have been back by now, Judah says, if you'd just let us go at the first. And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this. Take of the best fruits in the land of your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, nuts and almonds.

You see, the thing they lacked was grain. They lacked bread, the staff of life. They had apparently honey and spices, so old Jacob now says, Let's send the man down a gift.

Let's get on the sweet side of it. 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. Pray adventure.

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, that is, Simeon and Benjamin.

If I be bereaved of my children, well, I'm bereaved. And the man took that present. They took double money in their hand, and Benjamin rose up and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

And friends, I can't wait until next time. But we're going to have to stop right there today, because I want to see this most dramatic moment in the book of Genesis, maybe in the Bible, where it's a picture of another scene.