Selected Scriptures

June 4, 2017

Evening Service

Sean Higgins

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Or, God Awakens Sinners to Life – The Doctrine of Irresistible Grace (or Efficacious Call)

In his Introduction to John Owen’s The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, J. I. Packer writes:

For to Calvinism there is really only one point to be made in the field of soteriology: the point that God saves sinners.

God saves sinners. So far in our Reformed and Still Reforming series we covered three petals of the TULIP: 1) Total Depravity: God Saves Spiritually Dead Sinners, 2) Unconditional Election: God the Father Chose Sinners to Save, and 3) Limited Atonement: God the Son Substituted Himself for Sinners.

At this point around the flower the Arminian still says that anyone can believe the gospel and be born again, AND anyone can reject it as well. The Arminian says that the Holy Spirit cannot regenerate fallen man until he believes. The Holy Spirit does all He can to woo every fallen man to salvation, but until a fallen man responds in faith, of his own free will, the Spirit cannot give life. Faith precedes and makes possible the New Birth. Personal faith yields spiritual life.

In order to believe this, the Arminian must assume two things, one about man and one about God. He must assume that man is not dead in his sin, he is more mostly dead, because man must not only be capable of recognizing his bad condition, he must also capable of doing something about it. This is, of course, a denial or redefining of total depravity and absolute inability. Yet the Arminian must claim that if man doesn’t act first, there is no hope of salvation. The Arminian is also compelled to assume that God is not in complete control, either because He isn’t powerful enough to be in control or that He has voluntarily chosen to give up His control.

The Calvinist, however, says the Holy Spirit regenerates every one of God’s chosen people, enabling them to believe. The Holy Spirit graciously regenerates every one of God’s chosen people, creating within them a new heart and enabling them to freely and willingly believe in Christ as Savior and Lord. In fact, if the Spirit doesn’t act first, there is no hope of salvation. The New Birth precedes and makes possible Saving Faith. Spiritual life yields personal faith.

The reason why 10 people believe in room of 20 is not because 10 people were smarter or more spiritually sensitive, it’s because the Father chose them to believe, the Son’s resurrection guaranteed their regeneration, and the Spirit gives them new life in faith.

This is known as Irresistible Grace, or other theologians use the term efficacious call. To say that grace is “irresistible” is not to say that God saves men kicking and screaming against their will but rather that His grace overcomes their desire for sin and gives them desire for righteousness. There is no sub-group gathering in heaven to grumble about how much they didn’t want to be there. The Spirit’s work is “effectual” in that He successfully overcomes spiritual deadness, blindness, hard-heartedness and brings spiritual life; He conquers our hatred of God and enables us to love God. His grace powerfully and wonderfully brings us to Himself.

The problem is with the “want to.” God is the only one who can change our wants for Him.

One of the clearest illustrations of this compelling work of the Spirit is the picture of new birth. Jesus Himself makes new birth the requirement for seeing the kingdom of God, but pay special attention to how a person experiences this new birth.

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water[...]

Genesis 50:1-26

June 4, 2017

Lord’s Day Worship

Sean Higgins

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The sermon starts at 16:40 in the audio file.

Or, Joseph’s Place in God’s Plan for Israel

We have made it to the final chapter of the First Book of Moses. Genesis 50 covers about 60 years, even though the previous thirteen chapters have only covered about 40. Genesis 50 is also the last word on Israel for about 280 years until Moses is born and Second Book of Moses picks up the story in Exodus 1. It’s taken us 90 previous messages to get here, and there will be one more in the series next Lord’s day as a summary of our study. For this morning there is much to appreciate in these twenty-six verses leading up to The End.

The blessing baton has been passed. Jacob blessed Pharaoh in Genesis 47, then Jacob blessed Joseph through Ephraim and Manasseh in Genesis 48, and then Jacob blessed all his twelve sons in Genesis 49. After gathering his sons around him to give his prophetic testament, Jacob gathered up his feet into his bed and was gathered to his people.

In this chapter Joseph will carry on the family work of blessing. He recognizes that God put him in place to save his family, even though it was the sinful bitterness and rage of his brothers that got him into Egypt. We will see that Joseph fulfills his promise to his father (1-14), he fulfills his promise to his brothers (15-21), and he believes that God will fulfill his promise to Israel (22-26).

His Father’s Death (verses 1-14)

Jacob was concerned about where he was going to be buried. He’s recorded as having talked about it on three different occasions, going so far as to make Joseph swear about it (Genesis 47:29-31) and commanding his sons to it (Genesis 49:29-32). Now Joseph buries his dad in Canaan as he promised he would.

Mourning (verses 1-6)

At least the first verse of chapter 50 could have been included in chapter 49. Then Joseph fell on his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him. Jacob had “breathed his last” (Genesis 49:33) and Joseph was there, along with all the other sons, to see it.

Then Joseph takes charge of the arrangements. Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. Embalming was an Egyptian practice, not a Hebrew one. They embalmed their dead to preserve the body and prepare the way for the afterlife. The Hebrews buried without embalming, but Joseph knew that it would be a while before he could carry his father’s body to Canaan. It took forty days to do it, removing the bowels and adding spices and salts and wrapping the corpse with strips of protective material; they were making a mummy. While mummification happened and for another month, the Egyptians wept for him seventy days. This was a national mourning, with all the figurative flags at half-mast, and the time for the mourning approached the time of mourning for a Pharaoh (72 days, whether they liked him or not).

Perhaps because of the unclean nature of mourning, Joseph did not approach Pharaoh directly but he spoke to the household of Pharaoh and asked for permission to fulfill his word to his father. ”If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh saying, My father made me swear, saying, ‘I am about to die: in my tomb that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me.’ Now therefore, let me please go up and bury my father. Then I will return.” There is no offense in this request. It is his father’s idea, and it involves no insult toward the land of Egypt, it is based on Jacob’s previous preparations in Canaan. Joseph is also not looking to leave. And Pharaoh lets him go.

Burial (verses 7-14)

Joseph does not go alone. Mostly to show honor to Jacob, but perhaps also to discourage Joseph from staying away too long, a very great company goes with them. He went up with all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, as well as all the[...]

Genesis 49:1-33

May 28, 2017

Lord’s Day Worship

Sean Higgins

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The sermon starts at 17:55 in the audio file.

Or, Jacob’s Prophetic Blessings on His Twelve Tribes

Out of all the things that people in our day and age are interested in listening to, genealogies have to be near the bottom of the list. Right above genealogies might be a last will and testament, unless, of course, you think that you will be named as a beneficiary. Genesis 49 is Jacob’s final words, words of blessings to and prophecy about his sons. Some of it is obscure, some of it has already been fulfilled, some of it we are right in the middle of.

Jacob and family had moved to Egypt seventeen years previous to this scene. After his arrival, Joseph brought his father in before Pharaoh and Jacob blessed Pharaoh (Genesis 47:7-10). Because of how chapter 47 is framed with Joseph buying up all the livestock and land in Egypt for Pharaoh, with Jacob’s prayer of blessing on Pharaoh before and Jacob’s instructions about burial after, we’re to understand Pharaoh’s increase was due to Jacob’s blessing. Chapter 48 is also about Jacob’s blessing on Joseph by adopting Joseph’s two sons. By claiming Ephraim and Manasseh as his own, Jacob elevated them to equal status with his other sons, and then blessed Ephraim with the firstborn privileges. Both boys were blessed, so much so that their blessing would become a byword in future generations. “By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying, ‘God make you has Ephraim and Manasseh’” (Genesis 48:20).

In chapter 49 Jacob calls the rest of his sons to gather around him as he pronounces blessing on each one. He speaks not just about the twelve sons, but the descendants of the sons, “the twelve tribes of Israel” (verse 28). The blessings dominate the chapter, verses 1-28, then in the final section Jacob gives burial instructions to all his sons, verses 29-33.

Blessings Pronounced (verses 1-28)

No one interrupts, no one else speaks but Jacob. He describes the development of his descendants according to the different character displayed in each son.

Summons (verses 1-2)

Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you in days to come.” This is more than just an announcement of Jacob’s will, more than informing his sons what inheritance would be theirs. This is a “blessing,” as verse 28 summarizes, and it is also a revelation of what will be true for the descendants of each son more than just the future for the son himself. Here are the destinies of “the twelve tribes of Israel” (verse 28); nomen est omen, the “name is an omen.” Each benediction begins with and is based on something about the son, but it extends to his people. The days to come covers “the whole period from the departure out of Egypt to the reign of Christ” (Calvin). It is no small prophetic blessing.

The order of Jacob’s prophecies is by birth order except in one place where Zebulun is addressed before Issachar.

Reuben (verses 3-4)

Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn of Leah, and Jacob saw him as my might, and the firstfruits of my strength. A son showed Jacob’s virility and, in the firstborn position, Reuben was preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. He had a place of privilege.

We know, as the readers, that Jacob already elevated Ephraim into the firstborn rights. Reuben doesn’t know it as yet, and the way Jacob begins makes it sound like he’s setting up something good. Instead, Jacob was setting up a contrast. Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence, because you went up to your father’s bed; then you defiled it—he went up to my couch! It was recorded in just one verse back in chapter 35. The family was moving back to Canaan when Rachel died. Reuben’s lust was unstable and he took the opportunity to make a play for family power. Jacob “heard of it” (Genesis 35:22), but Moses doesn’t record any response. Jacob hasn’t forgotten, and Reube[...]

Selected Scriptures

May 21, 2017

Evening Service

Jim Martin

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The Father and Son’s Eternal Purpose

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The post Limited Atonement appeared first on Trinity Evangel Church.

The post Limited Atonement appeared first on Trinity Evangel Church.

Genesis 48:1-22

May 21, 2017

Lord’s Day Worship

Sean Higgins

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The sermon starts at 18:25 in the audio file.

Or, Jacob Gave Joseph Far More Than He Could See

From man’s first day on earth God has been a God of blessing. After creating male and female, before commissioning them to do anything, God blessed them (Genesis 1:28). God aimed His effectual, energy-supplying favor on Adam and Eve for sake of their fruitfulness in offspring and in their work.

It’s sometimes hard for us to remember that God is the God of all blessings because of sin. Sin keeps us from seeing blessings, sin keeps us from being thankful for what we see, and sin also means that God doesn’t owe anyone any blessings at all. Sinners deserve God’s judgment, they deserve His curse, and we have seen sinners and the un-blessed consequences of their sin since Genesis 3.

Yet we keep being reminded of God’s gracious choices to give good to some men. He made a lot of men fruitful, but He showed favor to Noah, and then especially to Abraham as God began to make a special people for Himself. Blessing has never about the deserving, it has always been about the LORD’s kindness.

Promises of blessing to pagan Abram were extended to Isaac. Promises to the only child Isaac were extended to Jacob, not Esau, which was part of God’s plan, and which also did not come under ideal conditions. Now it is time for Jacob to extend the blessings to the next generation, and we are surprised by the choice, the grace, and the faith.

Jacob is a key figure in Genesis. His birth was recorded in chapter 25 and his burial occurs in chapter 50; he’s in more than half the book. He is obviously a key figure for God’s people, Israel. The nation is called “Israel” after him because God named him “Israel.” The “names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel” are referenced as such on the gates in the new Jerusalem (Revelation 21:12) along with the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb (21:14).

Yet for Jacob’s place in history the author of Hebrews gives Jacob only one verse in the Hall of Faith. It’s nothing about his birthright or how he endured Laban or fathered a dozen boys. The one verse is about his death-bed blessing on Joseph’s two sons born of an Egyptian priest’s daughter.

By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. (Hebrews 11:21)

This blessing is recorded in Genesis 48. This is a chapter of promise, precedence, grace, surprise, and faith. The blessing Jacob gives will become a byword, that is, an extreme example, for future generations.

Chapter 47 ended with Jacob not doing well, now he’s really not doing well. Chapter 47 was about Jacob and family bringing blessing to their Egyptian neighbors, chapters 48 and 49 are about Jacob praying blessing on his family. Chapter 48 is the first stage.

A Promotional Adoption (verses 1-12)

The time had been drawing near for Israel to die for a while (Genesis 47:29). Part of his preparation meant getting Joseph to promise to bury him in Canaan. If he’d been healthy enough he might have asked Joseph to move him back, but he wasn’t that strong.

Some time After this, more months or maybe just weeks, Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is ill.” Joseph was working and living apart from his family. An unidentified messenger brought the medical update. For what it’s worth, this is the first time in the Bible that someone is described as ill or sick.

So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. There’s no reason to think that Jacob hadn’t met these grandsons already since they were born before Jacob and household arrived some seventeen years earlier. They are going to say their final good-byes.

And it was told to Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” There is another unidentified herald coming into Jacob’s room to announce the arrival of Egypt’s second-in-command. Then Israel summoned his strength and sa[...]

Genesis 47:1-31

May 14, 2017

Lord’s Day Worship

Sean Higgins

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The sermon starts at 15:30 in the audio file.

Or, How Joseph Brought Blessing to All the Land of Egypt

There are only four more chapters until our study of Genesis is finished. There are many more chapters left in the Bible after Genesis, and there have been multiple chapters in the history of God’s work since John finished his book of Revelation. The main idea in Genesis 47 is not new, nor is it unique, but it is worth both understanding and repeating as God makes us able.

When God elected Abram to be His man, He told Abram that Abram would be a blessing to the nations through his offspring (Genesis 12:1-3). That blessing continues to come through the one seed, Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:16), but blessings abounded from Abram’s own life and his descendants before Jesus. In Genesis 47, blessing comes through Jacob, Abram’s grandson, but Jacob’s blessing only comes because of the blessing of his son, Joseph. Joseph brings blessing to all the land of Egypt, to the royal palace, to all the Egyptians, and to his own father and brothers.

It took Joseph a long time to get to this position to be such a conduit of blessing. He endured two-plus decades of labor as a foreign slave, then as an unjustly accused prisoner. But he did endure, and God used him to save Pharaoh and the famished and his family.

In this chapter we’ll see how Joseph is part of blessing Pharaoh by settling his family in Egypt (verses 1-12), how Joseph is part of blessing Pharaoh by securing money and land and a future in Egypt (verses 13-26), and how Joseph is part of blessing Israel by promising to return him to the Promised Land (verses 27-31).

Joseph Settles His Brothers in Egypt (verses 1-12)

Joseph and his father and brothers met each other in Goshen at the end of chapter 46 (Genesis 46:28-29). Joseph knew where he wanted his family to settle (Genesis 45:10), and he explained to his family that he would go before Pharaoh on their behalf (46:31-32), and that they should answer Pharaoh about being shepherds (46:33-34). The scene moves to the palace as Joseph brings some of his family before the king.

Presenting His Brothers before Pharaoh (verses 1-6)

Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they possess have come from the land of Canaan. They are now in the land of Goshen.” This has the ring of an official report. But it moves from a just a report to include a personal introduction. And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh. Why only five? Which five? The five that looked the most noble and impressive? The five that looked the most weak and needy?

As Joseph anticipated, Pharaoh asked about their employment. ”What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, as our fathers were.” They said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servant’s flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. And now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.” The brothers go beyond Joseph’s catechism, but it’s all true, and it’s humble, referring to themselves as servants three times. They are shepherds, so they aren’t gunning for any important positions in the land. In fact, they came to sojourn, to be immigrants, not thinking it to be a permanent move. Though Joseph has promised them Goshen, and though that’s where their families and flocks were at the moment, they still don’t presume, they ask. This way they wouldn’t have to unpack twice.

Pharaoh turns to Joseph and authorizes him to take care of the needs of his family. ”Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them settle in the land of Goshen, and if you know any able men among them, put them in charge of my liv[...]

Genesis 46:1-34

May 7, 2017

Lord’s Day Worship

Sean Higgins

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The sermon starts at 18:30 in the audio file.

Or, The Start of Israel’s Sojourn in Egypt

Genesis 46 is about Israel, the man and the nation. From the start of Genesis 37 we’ve mostly been following the story of Joseph, but even though Genesis 46 wouldn’t happen without Joseph, Joseph is not the main character.

Israel, the name God gave to Jacob, has been around for more than half of the book of Genesis. He is one of the patriarchs, the father of the twelve Tribes of Israel, one who had been away from the Promised Land with his uncle Laban, then made it back into the Promised Land without too much hassle from his brother Esau. Now he is leaving the Promised Land, never to see it again. But his descendants, some of whom we meet in this chapter, will make it back to Canaan. This is just the start of Israel’s—as a nation—long sojourn in Egypt.

It could be argued that Genesis 46:1 through Genesis 47:12 should be taken as one section. The first twelve verses of chapter 47 do connect with Joseph’s instructions at the end of chapter 46, but we’ll stick with the chapter divisions for sake of covering a more equal amount of verses.

I said Joseph is not the main character here but he is the main motivation. Israel moved because of Joseph’s position. Israel moved because Joseph was still alive and because Joseph graciously forgave his brothers and invited the whole family to Egypt where he could take care of them. God tells Israel, “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation” (verse 5). Yet this is only possible because God sent Joseph before them to preserve life (Genesis 45:5). Joseph recognized and told his brothers, “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors” (Genesis 45:7). It was this perspective, born out of humble submission to the sovereign God, that caused Joseph to receive his brothers even after their hatred of him so many years ago.

Chapter 44 showed repentance. Chapter 45 showed reconciliation. Chapter 46 shows not just Israel’s relocation, but God’s grace in starting to make this small, sinful family into a great nation. We’ll see Israel’s journey as part of God’s plan to make a great nation (verses 1-7), Israel’s descendants when he came into Egypt from which the great nation came (verses 8-27), and Israel’s reunion with his son Joseph (verses 28-34).

Israel’s Journey (verses 1-7)

It took Jacob 20 years to get back to Canaan. After he had deceived his father and brother he left for Paddan-aram. He worked for 14 years to get two wives, with two more he didn’t bargain for, and then another 6 years for a flock of his own. He narrowly escaped Laban and Esau, surviving stupid sons (think Levi and Simeon after Dinah, as well as Judah and Tamar, etc.) and the loss of a son (or so he thought). Canaan was his inheritance, a hard fought for land he’d lived in for now for almost three decades. And he moves out. So Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba, the southern-most location before heading into the barren stretch of land on the way to Egypt.

Before leaving Canaan entirely he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. He stops to worship. He’s thankful, and expresses his faith in the LORD. He doesn’t worship after the LORD appears, the LORD appears after he worships. And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here am I.” We’ve seen this pattern before, though God hasn’t spoken since chapter 35 to Jacob when he entered back into Canaan and won’t again until in the burning bush to Moses (Exodus 3).

”I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph’s hand shall close y[...]

Selected Scriptures

April 30, 2017

Evening Service

Jonathan Sarr

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The post The Potency of God and the Doctrine of Divine Election appeared first on Trinity Evangel Church.

The post The Potency of God and the Doctrine of Divine Election appeared first on Trinity Evangel Church.

Genesis 45:1-28

April 30, 2017

Lord’s Day Worship

Sean Higgins

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The sermon starts at 19:10 in the audio file.

Or, Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers

If Genesis 44 is one of the greatest displays of repentance in all of Scripture, Genesis 45 is one of the sweetest reconciliations. We might not believe it except for the fact that most of us have heard it so many times since we were kids. Bitter, jealous, angry hatred planted some twenty-two years previous is now plucked up as Joseph reveals himself to his brothers without returning resentful, offended, grudge-holding wrath on them.

Joseph had set them up by having his steward place his silver cup in Benjamin’s sack. The brothers had been sent away, then the steward chased them down and accused the of theft. They didn’t know they’d been framed, but Benjamin had the cup. The brothers could have left their youngest brother as a slave to “the man” in Egypt, just as they had sold their youngest brother to be a slave in Egypt two decades ago, but they did not abandon Benjamin. They all turned back to Joseph’s house. Joseph confronted them and told them that they were all free to go except for Benjamin and Judah made an extended plea on behalf of his father, even offering to take Benjamin’s place.

Judah did all of the talking in the second half of chapter 44. In chapter 45, Moses records almost none of what the brothers said. The majority of the chapter is Joseph revealing himself to his brothers and then inviting them, along with Israel and the rest of the family, to come and live in Egypt.

To outline the story is almost like to dissect a tear; it’s possible and sort of misses the point. Yet for the torrent of emotion expressed by Joseph, it is his theological perspective that is most amazing. Without his theology, he would have had a lot of emotion, but it would not have ended like this.

Revelation of Joseph to His Brothers (verses 1-15)

I’m not sure which would be more surprising to the brothers, that Joseph was still alive, that Joseph was “the man” they had been dealing with, or that Joseph wasn’t angry with them.

His Perspective (verses 1-8)

Judah finished his appeal on behalf of Benjamin Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He’s already had a couple times when he had to leave the room in order not to show his feelings in front of his brothers. Now he doesn’t want to show his feelings in front of his attendants so he has them leave. He cried, “Make everyone go out from me.” And Moses clarified: So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. It is personal, and the privacy will be important as well.

And he wept aloud, he “gave his voice in weeping” (Hamilton), so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. Again, he’s cried at least twice before (Genesis 42:24; 43:30), but he pulled himself together before letting his brothers see. Now he wants them to see. And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” We can assume that his interpreter also went out, since “no one stayed,” so he starts speaking in their language. As Moses relates the story, there are no more tricks, no more delays, he just comes out with it. And immediately he asks about his father. Judah had just appealed to become a substitute in order to keep Jacob from dying, but Jacob is a key concern to Joseph.

But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. They didn’t know what to say. They didn’t know what to believe. The word dismayed could be translated “dumbfounded” or “stunned” or “terrified” (NIV). Sometimes the word was used to describe “paralyzing fear sometimes felt by those involved in war” (Wenham). “Their lives are clearly in the hands of the one they thought they killed” (Waltke).

So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Jos[...]

Genesis 44:1-34

April 23, 2017

Lord’s Day Worship

Sean Higgins

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The sermon starts at 17:10 in the audio file.

Or, Joseph’s Final Test of His Brothers

Repentance takes many forms. When a man repents from lying he should tell the truth. When a man repents from stealing, he should restore what was stolen and add some to it. When a child disobeys her parents, she should ask for forgiveness and then do what she was told. Repentance turns away from the sin committed just as a doctor prescribes exercises for the hurting part of the body.

Joseph’s brothers were in need of repentance and, while Joseph couldn’t recreate the exact scene, he does create a similar opportunity to see what was in his brother’s hearts. A silver cup becomes a crucible for testing.

Joseph’s ten older brothers hated him. Resentment toward his side of the family started before he was born since their father loved Rachel more than Leah, though Leah gave birth to Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Jacob’s first four sons. There were six more sons born to Rachel’s servant and Leah’s servant and Leah all before Rachel bore Joseph and Benjamin. So the brothers grew up in a household of favoritism before Rachel died, and then a husband’s doting turned to a father’s doting on Joseph.

It got to the point where Joseph’s older brothers “could not speak peacefully” (Genesis 35:4) to him because he was loved more than them. When he told his dreams about reigning over them “they hated him even more” (Genesis 35:8) and “were jealous of him” (Genesis 35:11). So “they conspired against him to kill him,” but while making their plans Judah saw a caravan of traders and got the idea that there was more “profit” in selling him as a slave than killing him. All they had to do was lie to Jacob, but what would be so bad about that? It’s not like their dad cared about them.

The scene in chapter 44 is a little more complex, namely because they didn’t know how long the famine would last, so they didn’t know how long they would need to keep dealing with “the man” in Egypt who seemed to be concerned about their younger brother. The older brothers have the opportunity handed to them to get rid of the new favored son, an opportunity that required nothing from them but to tell the truth. More than getting rid of Benjamin, here was their opportunity to get rid of Jacob, to get out from under the burden of his erratic headship, and to take hold of the inheritance coming to them.

Not only do they not do any of those things, they, at least through Judah’s leadership, show that true repentance had taken place.

The Final Test (verses 1-13)

Joseph and these eleven Hebrew men feasted together (Genesis 43:26-34) and, most importantly, “Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs” (Genesis 43:34). But they all “drank and were merry with him,” so it seems that they aren’t peeved at this preferential treatment. That was a good sign to Joseph, and now Joseph frames his brothers by recreating a similar scene as a final test.

The Setup (verses 1-5)

Joseph clearly trusted his steward. His steward was in on the setup again. The first time these Hebrew men visited Egypt to buy food Joseph had commanded the steward to put their money back in their sacks (Genesis 42:25). When the men came to get Simeon and buy food the second time, the steward said, “Your God and the God of your father has put the treasure in the sacks of for you” (Genesis 43:23). He did it, but he said that God did it.

After the party was over Joseph gives instructions again to fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry and also to put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack. The steward was especially trusted when Joseph said, put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest. It was silver, not gold, so the point isn’t about the costliness as much as it is about the uniqueness. This was Joseph’s cup, easy to identify as his, and [...]