Genesis-137 – Grant Us Grace

Genesis 43:8–14

 

“And Judah said to Israel his father, ‘Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. I will be guarantor for him. From my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. For if we had not delayed, we would now have returned twice.’ Then their father Israel said to them, ‘If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choicest fruits of the land in your jars, and carry a present down to the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. Take double the money with you, and carry back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight. Take your brother also, and arise, go again to the man. May Almighty God grant you mercy before the man, so that he may release to you your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.’” Amen.

 

The Twist in Joseph’s Story and God’s Test

Last week, we read and examined the content following verse 15 of Chapter 43. Since that passage helped explain Chapter 42, we read it first. Today, the order is not reversed; rather, to see how these events proceed toward their conclusion, we will look at the content from Genesis 43:1–14.

 

Just as Joseph's life was full of trials and reversals, Jacob also experienced no shortage of twists and turns. And now that Joseph’s life had stabilized and he had become the Prime Minister of Egypt, we might have thought the story would end in a happy conclusion. But suddenly, the brothers he had forgotten—and wanted to forget—reappeared. Ah, what was Joseph to do with these brothers? Looking at Joseph’s initial thoughts and commands, it seems he harbored a desire for revenge. He considered retribution and subjected them to a test of death: the command was, "All of you stay here, and one of you go and bring your youngest brother." If the brothers, who needed to take grain back, all stayed in Egypt, their families would surely starve—it was, literally, a test of death.

 

However, although the Bible does not record what happened during the three days, Joseph undoubtedly reflected on his life after those three days had passed. His life had not been easy, and the God he had encountered there was not a God who sought to destroy him, but a God who was with him and saved him. So, what was the very first thing he said when he met his brothers again? "I am one who fears God." Remembering the God who was with him, he issued a new command, which, as we know, was a test of life, a test of grace. The test of grace was sending all of them back, with only one remaining behind, and through this, the crucial essence of Joseph's story began to be revealed.

 

Human Fear and Divine Providence

The first focus, of course, was Joseph’s life and how God had dealt with him throughout it. However, upon Joseph’s reunion with his brothers, the first test was a test of death—an "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" approach. The next was a test of grace, much like the command of Jesus Christ to "love your enemies." Joseph administered three tests to his brothers, and the second test, which we are now focusing on, continued even in Canaan.

 

During their journey home, they found the money in their sacks and were seized by fear. Although they were clearly under God's gracious test, they feared, much like how we—the redeemed—fear, despite God telling us, "I will be with you, I will keep you, I will protect you, I will be your rock." Even when we are taught to stand upon the Rock, we seem intent on choosing to stand on mud or a swamp. And standing there, we frequently pray to God, saying, "But you said you were the Rock!"

 

It is not strange that we display such behavior. Looking at today’s passage, even though God was clearly testing them with grace, not only the brothers but even Jacob began to fear, asking, "Will this lead to us being accused of a crime, being imprisoned, or even killed later on?" Despite the great grace Joseph extended, Jacob and the brothers could not see that grace.

 

There was the consideration of providing grain to keep them from starving on the way back, and nine out of ten men had returned with sacks full of food to sustain their entire family. Yet, this consideration did not properly register in their eyes. They were experiencing God’s grace, yet they failed to see what God’s love was, how much God loved them, and how earnestly He was working—those things remained unseen. All they could focus on were complaints: "Why am I so unhappy? Why don't things go my way in this world? Why did I meet this person? Why am I facing this difficulty with that person?" From issues with children to problems at work, we are not trying to fabricate complaints; rather, we are stuck in the numerous problems we encounter in our own lives.

 

Jacob and His Brothers' Hope vs. God's Purpose

However, God did not allow the story of the brothers and Jacob’s household, having returned to Canaan, to end there. Because God's love did not cease there, this story could not end either. And as all these events head toward their conclusion, what surprises us is the way God handles the situation.

 

I would have wished for the situation to resolve like this: The nine brothers finally return home and report to their father, "Father, this is what happened." Though everyone was shocked to find the money in their sacks, fortunately, there was enough grain left. When the discussion of "Do we have to go back to Egypt?" arose, Reuben even offered his own children as collateral. At that time, Jacob said, "Absolutely not." But then God looked upon the suffering of Jacob and his family, and when Jacob blessed and prayed, the grain in the sacks multiplied ten or twenty times, never diminishing no matter how much they ate. And so, they lived well without worrying about food—how would that ending be? Are you not very pleased with it? Perhaps you are not delighted when others are full.

 

But wouldn’t Jacob and his brothers' genuine wish have been for this outcome? They wanted to stop starving and live peacefully in Canaan. They held out as long as they possibly could. We can see this clearly in what Judah said in the passage we read today: "Father, if you hadn't delayed, we would have already gone and returned twice." Going and returning twice means at least two or three months had passed. During that time, they had been surviving only on the grain they had.

 

Instead of God saying, "Famine over!" and letting them live in peace, the passage starts very severely. Genesis 43:1 begins: "Now the famine was severe in the land." That is, the famine in Canaan grew more severe. God's providence, God's grace, and God's ways are indeed strange and difficult for us to comprehend easily. They were preoccupied with the immediate problem of survival, but God showed them that His concern was not merely about their eating and living.

 

If God had intended only to solve their food problem, He would have ended the famine, or as I mentioned earlier, perhaps their grain would have multiplied through prayer like the miracle of the five loaves and two fish. He would have provided some method. However, God used none of those methods and instead brought an even more severe famine. What does this indicate about the purpose of this story, of this entire situation? It is not about eating and drinking, but about how this family would realize God's salvation in the future, how they would be restored to God's image, and how they would reconcile with and forgive one another, thereby restoring their identity as God's family. God's entire focus was on them—in our terms—recovering the image of the Kingdom of God, or Heaven.

 

Therefore, in all the events that happen to us, there is a difference between what we naturally think and feel in our hearts, and what God seeks to guide us toward and accomplish. We often experience great conflict, and sometimes feel unjustly treated or even angry because of this difference. We ask, "Why, why on earth is this happening?"

 

Judah’s Emergence and Messianic Guarantee

For this to be accomplished, they ultimately had to return to Egypt. However, Jacob was extremely reluctant to take his beloved Benjamin. On the other hand, Joseph in Egypt demanded, "Bring Benjamin," and the family was trapped in a dilemma: if they didn't go, the grain would run out and they would all starve to death. In this situation, where they were holding out to the end, Judah unexpectedly steps forward to the front. Today we are looking at the conversation and actions of these two people, and we will explore Judah in more depth next week.

 

It is clear that Judah is a very important figure in this story. Judah briefly says to his father Jacob, "Father, if we don’t go now, we will all die, and our young children too will die. But if we take Benjamin, we can all live. What will you do?" And then he declares: "I will be guarantor for him."

 

What does this word ‘guarantor’ mean? To offer oneself as a guarantor to someone means putting everything one has, even one's life, on the line for that cause. Judah put his very life on the line.

 

This is a truly meaningful story. In the past, Judah was one of the people who suggested selling Joseph, who argued against killing him and for selling him instead. In the end, 'selling' was not much different from saying, "Let’s kill him without getting blood on our hands." The same Judah now steps up and says, "I will lay down my life for this Benjamin—more accurately, for this entire family."

 

This declaration is deeply Messianic language. It is like the words Christ would speak in the future. Judah is now demonstrating a figure like that of Jesus Christ. How he came to this change is something we will examine in more depth next week.

 

Jacob’s Preparation, Seized by Fear

Today, we will examine Jacob’s reaction to this. Jacob only made a decision after hearing Judah’s words. However, he did not decide, "Now that I've heard Judah's words, I can send them off with peace of mind." He was still gripped by fear. The action he took because of that fear was preparing gifts to take to Egypt. He instructed them, "We have produce only grown in Canaan, do we not? Take this and offer it as a gift to the man."

 

Let me read the list of gifts Jacob told them to take: balm, honey, spices, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. Does this list of balm, spices, myrrh... sound familiar? Perhaps you are reminded of the gifts brought by the Magi (though it is uncertain if there were only three) around Christmas. But let us not go that far; let us turn back for a moment. This list is very familiar. Where else did it appear?

 

If you remember this, you have read the Bible very closely. This is like a foreshadowing that God laid out in advance as He unfolded the 'drama of salvation'—in our terms. Just as we might wonder, "Why is that element there?" in a drama, only to find later that it is a key connection, God prepared it that way. When did He lay it out? —Hint! It has something to do with Joseph. Second hint, it has something to do with Egypt. Third hint, it has something to do with the merchants going to Egypt.

 

Let me read the passage from Genesis 37: "As they sat down to eat their meal..." (These are the brothers.) "They looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing balm, gum, and myrrh, on their way down to Egypt." Now, put yourselves in the brothers’ shoes. Jacob knows nothing of this, but he now commands them: "Take this balm, gum, and myrrh, and go down to Egypt."

 

And to whom did they sell Joseph? They sold Joseph to those very merchants, the ones carrying balm, myrrh, and gum, who were traveling to Egypt. But now, they themselves are taking those very items and going down to Egypt with Benjamin. How chilled must their hearts have been on that journey? Every time they saw those gifts, they must have remembered, "Whom did we sell, and to whom are we going now?" It was fortunate that they did not know Joseph was the Prime Minister, or they would never have dared to go. Even if they were shameless, they were now re-enacting the very event in which they sold their brother. Seeing the repentance they had shown before, I believe that road back became a place of repentance for them.

 

"Ah, we sold Joseph this way, and Joseph walked this path. What on earth have we done? How did we treat Joseph, who begged us to save him?" They were walking that very road again.

 

A Faith That Rejects Grace and Resorts to Flattery

Now, if we apply this to our situation, God is extending grace to you—on one side, Joseph intends to bestow grace, is he not? But on the other side, they are gripped by fear and are trying to flatter the man, trying to somehow make him happy. Let me use an analogy. Jesus continually asks for your love after meeting you. "Let us talk of love. I want to be with you and rejoice, and I want to be satisfied in everything about you. I love you. I want to share your love too." Jesus asks you to share love with Him, but every time you meet, you resort only to flattery. "I hear Jesus is rich, how can I get something from Him? How can I please Him so that my status rises or I can live better?" All the while, you are constantly thinking these thoughts. Will you deny it?

 

Even in our hearts as we worship and approach God, thoughts like Jacob's—thoughts that haven't changed—constantly exist. Even while saying, "God, I truly came to see you, thinking of your grace," our hearts are asking, "Why? Aren’t we being treated unfairly? God, how much have I done for you? If I think about the devotion and love I poured out on you for 30 years... Ah, I would probably have bought three more houses by now. Isn't that a waste?" These thoughts arise. This, friends, is the most regrettable part of our faith life.

 

It is certainly commendable that you come to God with a heart that offers everything you have. But what if that heart involves "bringing a bundle of gifts to God, taking double the money, and trying to impress God"? How strange is that? People think: "Ah, the reason I don't receive the same blessings as that person is because I haven't given enough to God yet. What did that person do so well?" This is why they listen to testimonies. They want to know what that person did for God to bless them so much. They want to try it too and receive that blessing.

 

Friends, if one of the most fundamental reasons we believe in God is based on this approach, how meager is that faith? I was once watching a drama and was startled. It was quite a while ago. A character confronting the protagonist says, "Happiness can never be bought with money." This is something everyone agrees with. But the response to that was astounding: "If money can't buy happiness, it's because there wasn't enough money."

 

The thinking is completely different. Do you know what truly scared me about myself? When I heard that line, I secretly nodded, thinking, "Yes, that's right." Unbeknownst to us, our thinking is: "Happiness, right, money can't buy happiness. But maybe I just don't have enough money? If I had more, I could be happy. If I had a lot, an uncountable amount, maybe I could be happy?" This thinking is so similar to our attitude in faith.

 

That is why I was shocked. "Shouldn't I be more devoted to God? Shouldn't I serve a little more? Shouldn't I pray a little more? Shouldn't I read the Bible a little more?" We think that by doing so, God's heart will be moved, and He will favor us. No, friends. Being negligent in your faith life can be a loss. But that loss is naturally returned to you, and it is simply time wasted in your life. The time you did not correctly read the Bible, did not come to the Lord in prayer, did not serve God, and did not love your neighbor, must be excluded from your life. That time was all wasted. You threw away your time for nothing. That time is not real time. Conversely, the time you met the Lord, the moment you remembered His grace, the time you gave thanks to the Lord—that time remains. That is real time.

 

That is why the Bible says, "The days are evil," and tells us to make the best use of the time. Here, 'make the best use of' is akin to the word 'redeem'. The time you spend agonizing over how to live according to God's will—that time is redeemed time. But if you spend time in idleness, focused on yourself rather than on God, regrettably, that time becomes time that has flowed away; it is not time truly lived.

 

In the same context, we all need to reflect on how we are approaching God. We think that the reason we are not enjoying good things in the world is because we have not received enough grace and blessing from God. We want to find ways to receive what we feel we haven't received enough of. But the most fundamental grace God has given is Himself. He gave God, He gave Christ. Yet, we constantly only think about, "Who will do better, who will obey more, who will serve more?" and we use that as the yardstick of faith, trying to exhaust ourselves.

 

Ultimately, even as we sing "The Great Love of God" in our hymns, we fail to truly see the love that the lyrics say "the heavens could be the parchment, and the sea could be the ink, yet all could not record." The grace of God is invisible to us. Just as the brothers did not recognize Joseph before him, just as they did not recognize the grace Joseph showed, we too so easily lose sight of the immensity of the grace and love God has bestowed upon us.

 

The Value of Eternal Life Stolen by Fear

Friends, what was the beginning of all this? It was fear. Fear is such a terrifying thing. The fear of losing what I have, the fear of becoming worthless, the fear of not being recognized, the fear of what my future holds, the fear of how I will end this life as my possessions gradually disappear. Was it not all those fears that ultimately caused Jacob to miss out on God's grace?

 

As a result, it began to seem that not God but his own life, not God but his own world, his own happiness, his own honor, his own pride, were far more important. You know what it's being traded for. Friends, when your own life becomes important, God's life, the eternal life God gives, shrinks. The more the world I pursue comes to the forefront, to the center of my life, the more God's Kingdom is pushed away from the center. When my happiness, honor, and pride grow, the eternal rest or promised victory God gives, the joy, rest, and peace we ought to enjoy by God being with us, cannot remain at my center and are inevitably pushed to the periphery.

 

Why does this happen? It is because we do not realize grace. It is because we do not recognize grace and do not know how precious it is, or how valuable what we receive and enjoy is. Who would exchange this short and limited life we have for eternal life? Is that reasonable? If you were asked, none of you would give the wrong answer to this question. Who would exchange this short life, this life that won't even last a hundred years—no, I apologize. It might last over a hundred years—but since a hundred years is nothing these days, who would exchange that life for eternal life? Yet, you are exchanging it. You exchange it every day. You say, I don't need to receive eternal life right now; give me something good in my mouth, in my hand, in my heart today.

 

This is because when we read about what we call eternal life, we dismiss it as 'something good to be given later, something okay to receive later.' That is what you mean by eternal life. The true meaning of eternal life is not that. Eternal life is not simply living a long time. Eternal life is, as I mentioned earlier, living a good life where not a single moment is wasted, a life where God's glory is completely full in you, a life where nothing is wasted, a life of true life that pleases God and rejoices in God.

 

But have you ever meditated on eternal life? Do you truly meditate on what eternal life is? Do you just think, "Oh, well, I believe in Jesus, so I get eternal life, I'm going to Heaven" like that? Or have you truly meditated on that Kingdom of God and eternal life? Have you thought about what it must be, what God must be like, for Him to have sent Jesus Christ for this? Christ did not come for you to eat well and live well on this earth, did He? Jesus did not carry the cross to solve various problems you have in this world, or to solve your retirement. Jesus carried the cross so that you might obtain eternal life and be filled with that eternal life.

 

Therefore, friends, have you truly thought deeply about what eternal life is? Do you meditate on what it must be for God to have staked His own life on it? That is what we do not know. We do not know the value of eternal life. We do not know the value of grace enough. That is why we are losing everything in this fear.

 

Jacob’s Prayer to the Almighty God

The other thing is that we, naturally, do not know the one who gives that eternal life very well either. We are constantly ignorant about God, yet when we pray at home, we have our own pattern of prayer, and there are words that come out first as a habit. In Korean churches in the past, elders always had a pattern when offering public prayer, saying at length, "Almighty, omnipresent, omniscient..." They thought they knew God. How could Jacob not have known who God was? Yet, now he is virtually facing the fundamental question of who God is. Just as all the other brothers did not recognize Joseph, we, too, may not know who God is even in the place where we call upon God the most, saying, "God, God."

 

As a result, we too often think of this God merely as an entity called a god (神)—a being that is superior to us, has more power than us, and can solve our problems to some extent. That is precisely an idol, but we do not realize it is an idol. We hold onto this religious god without knowing why God came to us, or what God truly desires from us.

 

Friends, this means we act exactly like we talk at home. When a wife complains, and a husband realizes his mistake, or when there are various problems, a man has something he says to his wife: "I'll do better." He says it to soothe her. Often, he says it without knowing what he is talking about. This phrase, "I'll do better," collapses immediately if she asks one question: "What are you going to do better?" He cannot answer. Men are not the kind of people who ask such questions. If a wife says to her husband, "I'll do better from now on, I'll treat you better," husbands are invariably happy and excited. There is truly no husband who asks, "What are you going to do better?" If a wife dares to ask once, the husband is utterly defeated. He has nothing to say. He does not know what he should do better. We are exactly like this toward God. "God, I will do better." But what do we mean by 'do better'? We tend to think only, "I'll be more devoted, I won't miss a single service, I'll do something earnestly from now on," which is a formal attitude.

 

The reason God delights in your coming to worship, the reason He calls you to "Worship, come to Me," is to love you, to rejoice in you, and because He wants you to share His joy and delight with Him. But your attitude is exactly the same as the brothers’ attitude toward Joseph. They offer gifts, prostrate themselves, and beg to be spared. But they have no interest in Joseph himself. They do not recognize Joseph. They do not know Joseph. Friends, this means you can pretend to worship even without knowing God. You can bow down. "Oh God, spare me. God, look at what I have brought. I have come before you like this." This is not pleasing to God; rather, it is an attitude that makes God very uncomfortable.

 

Friends, Joseph saw all the gifts Jacob sent, the ones sent initially, but the Bible does not later record him saying, "Well done," or asking what they were. He was not interested. Joseph's interest was in Benjamin, his brothers, and his father. God's interest is the same. But friends, just as we saw in the incident with Esau, the same thing that always happened to Jacob occurs in this incident too. After sending everything ahead before meeting Esau, what did Jacob do? He did not cross the Jabbok River, but remained behind alone to pray to God.

 

Friends, this situation re-enacts the time Jacob was left alone at the Jabbok River. After sending all the gifts and even his sons away, he prays to God in this solitude. To prevent you from thinking, "Pastor, isn't that just a similar story that you’re forcing to fit the situation?" let us read the very first words that begin this prayer together. Let us look at just those two phrases in Genesis 43:14: "May Almighty God..."

 

Friends, why is this phrase important? This "Almighty God" is the word El Shaddai. This word appears constantly starting from the Book of Exodus. "El Shaddai, El Shaddai..." it keeps coming up, explaining who God is, how He saves us, and how almighty He is. But it does not appear often in Genesis. When did it first appear in Genesis? It was when God said to Abraham, "Be perfect, just as I am holy, or I am complete"—at that moment, the Almighty God declared, "I am Almighty God." The second time it appears is also the declaration, "I am Almighty God."

 

Friends, I will read a passage, and please guess who it was spoken to. This is a quiz. "God said to him, 'I am Almighty God; be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your body.'" Who was this spoken to? Not Joseph, right? Jacob. That is right. It was God's word to Jacob. Where was it spoken? At the Jabbok River. At the Jabbok River, God spoke the name "Almighty God" for the second time. And Jacob is using that name now for the first time.

 

The phrase "May Almighty God" carries this meaning: God, having declared, "I am Almighty God," made a promise: "My people shall come through you, and kings shall come from your body." This promise is contained within Jacob's prayer now. "God, but I have lost Joseph like this. Must I lose Benjamin too? God, You are Almighty God. Therefore, may my sons and Benjamin return so that God's promise may be fulfilled." That is what this means.

 

Jacob is not simply praying now; he is re-enacting the Jabbok River prayer before God. What Jacob realized at that time was the amazing confession: "The master of my life is not me, but God, and God has brought my life to victory." According to that confession, he now stands before God. Jacob is not just remembering the Jabbok River; he is praying to the God who spoke at the Jabbok River. Jacob, who has no choice but to be left alone now that all his sons have left, finally utters the word we must regard as most important: "Grant us mercy [or grace]." Was it so difficult to say that?

 

Relying on Grace and Entrusting Everything

But thinking about it, that word is so difficult. It is the same for us. That word is difficult. "God, I will truly rely only on that God." This confession is difficult. Although we come to God seemingly ready to rely on Him completely, our hearts are always preoccupied not with God, but with how I will live, who I am, what I will enjoy, and how I can obtain what I desire in life. In that situation, you must confess, "No, no, none of this is real. My God is faithful, and He is the only one I can trust."

 

When he prayed this way, the famous words we know so well finally emerge: "Therefore, I will now entrust Benjamin to the hand of Judah, who offered to be guarantor for him and die. I will now entrust my life and everything I have to his hand. I will entrust them to God's hand." This is because God is actually raising up Judah, not Benjamin. Judah is a type, a shadow, of Christ. Now, concerning Judah, who is the shadow of "I will die for you," Jacob says, "Therefore, I entrust him to you. As you have said, I hope that you will not only protect Benjamin to the end and bring him back, but that all your brothers will also return." What is this? It is God’s grace.

 

Friends, to Jacob, Joseph was as good as the firstborn. When he dreamed of the brothers bowing down to him, didn't that imply Joseph would be the firstborn? Jacob himself became the firstborn because of the word his mother heard from God: "The older shall serve the younger." So, the Scripture records that Jacob kept this in his mind. It was the thought that Joseph would be the firstborn. But the firstborn, Joseph, died. Who was next after Joseph? The expectation shifted to Benjamin.

 

But, friends, isn't it interesting? Benjamin has no dialogue. How old might Benjamin have been? At the very least, he was twenty-three. He was born before Joseph left, as over twenty-two years had passed since Joseph was taken. Even if he was born right at that time, he was twenty-three. He was probably older than that. Yet, he does not utter a single word. Isn’t that strange? If the family situation unfolds this way, Benjamin should step up. It would be reasonable for him to come forward and say, "Father, I see that I must go. I am not a child. I will go and meet Joseph. And I will return, so don't worry." We would understand if he were five or six. We would understand if he were ten. We could even tolerate it if he were seventeen. We could accept it if he were the same age as Joseph was when he was sold. But he is now well over twenty and likely in his mid-twenties. Yet, not a single word comes from him. Who speaks? Judah speaks. Truly, God's way is utterly mysterious.

 

A Faith That Entrusts Everything to God's Will

So, when Jacob says, "If I must lose my son, then I will lose him," he is not at all saying he is giving up on his son. "God, I believe your promise. I believe that you will surely accomplish what you have spoken in this event." You are not just listening to the story of Jacob or Joseph; you are listening to the story of your own life. No matter how short a Bible verse is for you, no matter how powerless it may seem, even if it is a short verse like "Rejoice always" or "Pray without ceasing," or a short, universally known verse like "Fear not, be not dismayed"—if that word of God is true and correct, will He not accomplish that word? God will surely accomplish His word.

 

Therefore, he confesses, "Even if I lose everything, I will lose it." This is because he believes that God’s will is being accomplished. Friends, watching Jacob entrust everything into the hand of Judah, into the hand of God, into the hand of Christ, causes us to reflect on our own lives. Is it the same for you? "God, I really don't understand this method. Why another famine? God, I truly don't know. We need to go back..." In this checkmate situation where Jacob had no options, why does God put him through a test like the Jabbok River once more? Why does He make him utter this confession? How on earth is God training this Jacob, how is He shaping Joseph, how is He changing all these brothers, and how is He drawing this Judah into the story of salvation?

 

This divine drama unfolds in ways we could never have imagined. Think about Judah, friends. Isn't he the person least likely to appear in this sacred history of salvation, the one farthest removed from it? Yet, God laid the groundwork for Judah's story beforehand. And it was a very serious, unsightly story. "Oh, why is this kind of story in the Bible?" Judah was truly a man with nothing to boast of. Judah was not a devout man. Judah was a person with nothing to establish before God, and he was the weakest among them. But he emerges like a lion. "I will go, putting myself down as the guarantee." It is truly amazing.

 

God’s Infinite Wisdom and Promise

God's method was one no one anticipated. We generally desire life and happiness. That is still true today. But we try to flatter God to get those things, whereas God gave His Son, He gave Himself, to give us those things. To give us the true blessing, the joy we ought to enjoy, to ensure we are not defeated and remain victorious in this world, to keep you from ever being crushed, and so that you may know in any situation, "Ah, that’s right. God holds onto me to the very end"—for this, He gave Himself. This was God’s infinite wisdom. Jacob’s prayer will eventually lead to meeting Joseph. Jacob’s blessing will result in meeting Joseph, and this amazing work of God will be accomplished.

 

Friends, William Cowper, a poet and hymn writer, composed many hymns, including the one we know: "There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins." This is a hymn we sing often, and he wrote the lyrics. Wordsworth, one of the greatest English poets we know well, once mentioned that he received the most inspiration from Cowper. He left behind many outstanding sacred poems.

 

I would like to conclude the message by reading one of his poems. The title of the poem is "God Moves in a Mysterious Way."

 

God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform; He plants His footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm.

 

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take; The clouds ye so much dread Are big with mercy, and shall break In blessings on your head.

 

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, But trust Him for His grace;

 

Behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face.

 

Let us pray.

Behind a frowning providence, God hides a smiling face. Oh Lord, You who desire to pour out upon us not just a dark cloud, but a cloud filled with love and mercy, we pray that You will accomplish Your will in this very moment and throughout our lives. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.