Release

Scripture: Genesis 45

Video Link: https://youtu.be/4dUdkpcGHH8

Structure:

• Introduction
• Release
• Renewal
• Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Paul Tournier, the Christian physician, once said…

“Nothing makes us so lonely as our secrets.”

A secret prevents us from getting close to people. A secret makes parts of ourselves invisible to others so that we are misunderstood, not fully known, not fully loved or accepted. A secret opens our mind to fear and closes our heart to intimacy. Nothing makes us so lonely as our secrets.

Today we continue our series in the life of Joseph, focusing on Genesis 45. Joseph’s brothers have been living with a secret for 22 years and the sense of loneliness and alienation has taken its toll. Joseph also has a secret, the weight of which has now become too heavy to bear. From Genesis 45, verse 1, we read…

¹ Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. ² And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.  ³ Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence. ⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!  ⁵ And now, 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. ⁶ For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. ⁷ But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.  ⁸ “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. ⁹ Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. ¹⁰ You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. ¹¹ I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’ ¹² “You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you. ¹³ Tell my father about all the honour accorded me in Egypt and about everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly.”  ¹⁴ Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping. ¹⁵ And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with him.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us. 

Release:

You have probably heard of the movie The Truman Show, about a man trapped inside a reality TV series in which he is the star, only he doesn’t know it. All the people in his life are actors, playing a part, keeping the secret, keeping Truman in the dark.

When the creator of the show is challenged about the morality of lying to Truman and keeping him captive on the show, he replies…

“[Truman] could leave at any time. If his was more than just a vague ambition, if he was absolutely determined to discover the truth, there’s no way we could prevent him… ultimately Truman prefers his cell.” 

We human beings often have a difficult relationship with truth. On the one hand, we don’t always want the truth to get out or maybe we prefer not to face the truth because it is too difficult.

On the other hand, we have a deep yearning for the truth and the freedom it brings. There is a part of us that longs to know and be known. We were made for intimacy.

One day, when Truman begins to suspect that his whole world is fake, he becomes absolutely determined to discover the truth. He can’t go along with the lie anymore and plans his escape. His desire for a life that is real and relationships that are true is stronger even than his fear of death.

Last week we heard how Joseph had his steward plant a silver cup in Benjamin’s sack. Joseph did this because he wanted to know if he could trust his brothers. He wanted a relationship with his brothers that was real and true.

The brothers passed Joseph’s test with flying colours. When Benjamin was found to have the cup, the brothers did not trade Benjamin for their own freedom. They stood in solidarity with him. In fact, Judah offered himself as a slave in Benjamin’s place.

When Joseph saw that his brothers had changed, he could no longer contain himself. The truth set Joseph free to take off his mask and reveal himself to his brothers saying, “I am Joseph”.   

The brothers are speechless. They can’t take it in. This is not what they were expecting. Not only was Joseph alive, when they thought he was dead. He has also become the Prime Minister of Egypt. Seeing Joseph was like seeing a ghost. They were terrified.  

The brothers here remind us of Jesus’ disciples, caught between hope and terror, when the risen Jesus appeared to them after his crucifixion and burial. 

Joseph invites his brothers to take a closer look. Then he proves his identity saying, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt”.

This was a secret only Joseph could have known. Not even Benjamin was aware of what his other ten brothers had done.

Nothing makes us so lonely as our secrets. The brothers’ secret had forced them to lie to their father Jacob and probably also to their wives and children. They were not free to be honest with those closest to them. The brothers’ secret was like weed killer on their relationships. It kept them on the defensive and isolated them.

By letting his brothers know that he was alive and doing well, Joseph set his brothers free. After 22 years of secrets and lies, they no longer needed to pretend. They no longer needed to fear the worst. Now the brothers could draw close to those who loved them.

Joseph reminds us of Jesus here. The Spirit of Jesus is a Spirit of grace and truth. Joseph communicates the truth with a generous measure of grace. Joseph wants his brothers to know he holds nothing against them.

He wants to set them free, so he lets them in on a theological truth…

⁷ …God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. ⁸ “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.

Three times in verses 5-8 of Genesis 45, Joseph says to his brothers that it was God who sent him to Egypt.

Now, in saying that it was God who sent Joseph to Egypt, we must be clear. God did not want or need the brothers to sell Joseph into slavery. God could have arranged for Joseph to get to Egypt some other way.

The point is: it was always God’s purpose to send Joseph to Egypt and nothing can defeat God’s purpose. We human beings make our choices, sometimes good, sometimes bad. And God, in his wisdom, works with the choices we make to achieve his sovereign goal.      

Walter Brueggemann puts it this way, “The freedom of the creature and the gracious sovereignty of God are not in conflict, nor are they to be equated. God makes use of all human action and is not domesticated or limited by human choice.”  

Knowing this sets us free to let God be God. It releases us from fear so we can trust God more.

Now when it comes to bursting the bubble of our secrets and revealing the truth we need to exercise thoughtfulness and discretion. We don’t just reveal our truth to any random person.

When Joseph realized some significant truths were about to be revealed and they were truths that would be frightening if not embarrassing for his brothers, he ordered all his attendants to leave.

Joseph does not want to shame his brothers publicly. He wants to foster trust with his brothers and keep them safe.  

The point of application for us is, be wise about how you share your truth. We don’t need to publicly confess our deepest darkest secrets before the whole congregation or to everyone on Tik Tok or Facebook. That would do more harm than good.

Ask yourself, what is going to set people free and foster trust in this situation? Don’t put your pearls before swine. Share your truth with people you know you can trust. And don’t share information that is not yours to share. Don’t gossip, in other words, because that won’t set people free or foster trust.

The brothers were not the only ones to be set free by the truth. Joseph also finds release from his isolation. Now he can drop the pretense and be himself. Now he can finally let go of all his pent-up emotions. Over 20 years’ worth. 

Joseph weeps as he embraces Benjamin. And then he weeps over each of his other brothers in turn. It’s not just the brothers who have received Joseph back from the dead. Joseph received his family back from the dead as well.

Joseph’s tears reveal the depth of his suffering and love. Joseph’s tears show his brothers that they are released from blame and accepted. For it is only after Joseph has wept on each one of his brothers that they are able to talk to him.

By God’s grace and Joseph’s wisdom all the brothers finally experience the release they had longed for. But what are they being released into? From verse 16 we continue the story…

Renewal:

¹⁶ When the news reached Pharaoh’s palace that Joseph’s brothers had come, Pharaoh and all his officials were pleased. ¹⁷ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan, ¹⁸ and bring your father and your families back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you can enjoy the fat of the land.’ ¹⁹ “You are also directed to tell them, ‘Do this: Take some carts from Egypt for your children and your wives, and get your father and come. ²⁰ Never mind about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours.’ ” ²¹ So the sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them carts, as Pharaoh had commanded, and he also gave them provisions for their journey. ²² To each of them he gave new clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five sets of clothes. ²³ And this is what he sent to his father: ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other provisions for his journey. ²⁴ Then he sent his brothers away, and as they were leaving he said to them, “Don’t quarrel on the way!”  ²⁵ So they went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. ²⁶ They told him, “Joseph is still alive! In fact, he is ruler of all Egypt.” Jacob was stunned; he did not believe them. ²⁷ But when they told him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. ²⁸ And Israel said, “I’m convinced! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

C.S. Lewis once wrote…

“It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must hatch or go bad.”

Change may be uncomfortable and unwanted, but it is inevitable if we are to make progress in our life and relationship with God. There comes a point when we must all embrace the change God intends for us if we are to fly.

Truman needed to leave the safety of the TV studio, and venture into the unknown world outside, for the wellbeing of his soul. Likewise, Joseph’s family needed to change also. For their own survival and growth, they needed to leave Canaan and settle in Egypt for a while.

More than simply changing countries though, they needed a fresh start in their relationships. They needed to renew their thinking. Renewal is something God does. Yes, we need to participate in our own renewal, but renewal only happens at God’s initiative.    

We see one clear sign of renewal in verse 22, where Joseph gives new clothing to each of his brothers. The brothers had (in their envy and hatred) stripped Joseph of his special cloak. Now Joseph repays evil with good by giving all his brothers new clothes.

The new clothes are an outward symbol of the brothers’ inner renewal. They have been through the crucible of conversion and emerged as new people. Previously, the brothers had clothed themselves in shame. Now Joseph clothes them in righteousness. Just as Jesus clothes us in His righteousness when we are baptized.

However, when we read that Joseph gave far more to his brother Benjamin than to any of the others, we may start to feel a bit nervous. Is this repeating the mistakes of the past? 

Well, probably not. The brothers have proven their loyalty to Benjamin.

Joseph may be challenging the culture of his time. Normally the eldest son was given preferential treatment, but Benjamin is the youngest.

By giving Ben 300 shekels of silver & five sets of clothes, Joseph is turning the tradition upside down.

Like Jesus said, the first shall be last and the last shall be first. This is a sign of gospel renewal.

The mention of Joseph sending his brothers off with 20 donkeys all laden with provisions is an interesting touch. Previously the brothers had worried that Joseph wanted to steal their donkeys. Now Joseph corrects that kind of catastrophic thinking through his generosity.

Joseph’s parting word about not quarrelling on the way home would be better translated as, “Don’t get worked up or agitated. Don’t get carried away or over excited. Stay calm.” Renewed mind, renewed emotions.

Perhaps the most significant sign of renewal is seen in the closing verses of Genesis 45. When the brothers return to Canaan and tell their father Jacob the good news that Joseph is still alive and that he is the ruler of Egypt, Jacob has difficulty believing it at first. It sounds too good to be true.

But as his sons tell the story and as he sees the royal carts provided for their transport, Jacob believes the truth and his spirit is revived. Jacob is finally released from the pattern of grief that he has been trapped in all this time and his soul is renewed.    

There was a time, in Jacob’s youth, when he grasped for wealth and was willing to deceive his brother and father to steal the birthright and the blessing. But now we see a very different Jacob.

The thing that revives Jacob, the thing that renews his life, is not the wealth sent by Joseph, but rather believing the good news that his son is alive and well.

Conclusion:

Last Thursday was Ascension Day. Ascension is a day in the church calendar when we celebrate the risen Jesus’ exaltation to the right hand of God in heaven. It is a special time to bask in the light of the good news that Jesus is alive and well, interceding for us with the Father.

Jesus’ ascension is good news indeed because it means Jesus is in charge of the universe. It means we are released from our guilt and shame and clothed in righteousness. By the grace and power of the risen and exalted Christ, we will be transformed and renewed. We will soar on wings like eagles.   

May the grace and truth of our Lord Jesus Christ set us free to walk in freedom and righteousness. Amen. 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

• Can you keep a secret? What affect do secrets have on our soul and our relationships? What affect does truth have on our soul and relationships?

• Discuss / reflect on the theological significance (and practical implications) of Joseph’s belief that God sent him to Egypt?

• Can you think of a time in your own experience when God used something bad to serve His good purpose? What happened?

• Why do we need to hold grace and truth together? How does Joseph manage to do this with his brothers?

• What signs of renewal do we see in Genesis 45? What signs of renewal are you conscious of in your own life?

• What connections do you see between Genesis 45 and the work of Jesus?