Jesus Versus Tradition

The Pharisees rebuked Jesus for not following the Jewish traditions. They were discussing defilement, and the Pharisees were saying that because Jesus didn't wash His hands in the prescribed manner that He was defiling Himself. But Jesus gave them a teaching on what is clean and what is unclean. "It is not what enters a man's mouth that makes him unclean, but what comes out of a man's mouth, i.e., from his heart, that makes him unclean."

The Repentance of the Brothers

The sons of Jacob were wild, cruel and unruly. They were envious of their brother Joseph, and deceitful toward their father. They caused both of them great pain for many years. But God had plans for the brothers, to bring them to repentance and save them. It was a time for the fathers of God’s people to come of age, and Joseph was the instrument God used.

Jacob sent his sons to Egypt because the severity of the famine had reached Canaan. Joseph, the prime minister of Egypt, recognized them immediately and sought to forgive them. However, he realized that they needed to be brought to the point of confession and repentance for their sins. He developed a plan to cause them to reflect upon their sins. Their sins were like festering sores, and Joseph sought to open the wounds and cleanse them. He brought upon them a number of incomprehensible situations to prick their consciences and point them to the God of their fathers.

First he accused them of being spies, prompting them to tell him the history of their family. About their family, they said, “one is no more, and the other is with their father,” i.e., Benjamin. Joseph then asked that the younger brother be brought to him. Joseph told them “he feared God,” which I believe caused the brothers to begin to think about their sins in the light of God’s judgment. The festering sores were being opened, and guilt was being exposed. They talked among themselves about their crimes against Joseph and their father. Joseph heard their conversation, and turned away and wept. The brothers did not know he knew their language – Hebrew.

Joseph sent them back to Canaan (except for Simeon), and had his servants load their sacks with grain. And he returned the money they brought to buy the grain. When the brothers realized their money had been returned they said, “God had done this.” Again they were thinking about God. They reported all this to their father Jacob, who then began to lament and mourn, saying, “Joseph was no more, Simeon was no more, and now Benjamin was at risk.” The quilt of the brothers was growing.

As the famine continued, their father sent the brothers back to Egypt, and they took Benjamin and a double portion of money to again buy grain. Joseph explained to them that he returned the money the first time because of “God and the God of their fathers;” and once again they were pointed toward God. He made a great feast and gave increased honor to Benjamin. And when the brothers saw this, their consciences were again pricked. And again Joseph wept bitterly. I think the pain they were experiencing hurt him.

The brothers had not yet come to repentance but much was stirring in their souls. Joseph released Simeon and sent the brothers back home. He still had not revealed himself to them. Joseph ordered his servants to again fill their sacks with grain and return their money. But he also instructed his servants to place his own personal silver cup into Benjamin’s sack. Then as the brothers were traveling home, Joseph’s servants overtook them to look for the cup. They found it in Benjamin’s sack and arrested him. The brothers were now troubled and in deep agony. They were humbled.

The brothers repented of their sins. Judah, speaking for his brothers, said to Joseph, “God has found out the iniquity of your servants.” Judah was contrite and pleaded for mercy, and even offered to take Benjamin’s place, which should remind us of Jesus taking our place of punishment on the cross; that we might be forgiven for our sins. At this confession of sin, Joseph broke down and revealed himself to his brothers, Genesis 45. He forgave them, and later said, “you meant it for evil against me, but God meant it for good to save many,” Genesis 50:20. Their sins were confessed and the festering sores that had existed for so many years had been cleansed.

Joseph and his brothers, the fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel, were coming of age. They grew from a family of 70, when they left Canaan to go to Egypt, to a nation of 2½ million four hundred years later, when they were delivered from Egypt back to Canaan. But in Egypt, they worshipped the gods of Egyptians, and developed a habit of idolatry. Eventually, they were enslaved and persecuted. But God, in His providence, had plans to bring them to faith. His plans included Moses, the servant of God, a great deliverance from Egypt with plagues and miracles, the giving of a code of law, a walk in the desert for 40 years, and the rise of Joshua to lead them into the Promised Land. God’s chosen people were coming of age, and the path was through persecution and chastisement.