Our scripture text today is Genesis chapter 44. Hear now the word of God. And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money into his sack's mouth. And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses. And when they were gone out of the city and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, follow after the men, and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good? Is not this it in which my Lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? Ye have done evil in so doing. And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words. And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my Lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing. Behold the money which we found in our sack's mount, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan. How then should we steal out of thy Lord's house silver or gold? With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my Lord's bondmen. And he said, now also let it be according unto your words. He with whom it is found shall be my servant, and ye shall be blameless. Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack. And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. Then they rent their clothes, and laid it every man his ass, and returned to the city. And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house, for he was yet there, and they fell before him on the ground. And Joseph said unto them, what deed is this that ye have done? Watch ye not, that such a man as I can certainly divine. And Judah said, what shall we say unto my Lord? What shall we speak, or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants. Behold, we are my Lord's servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found. And he said, God forbid that I should do so, but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant. And as for you, get you up in peace unto your father. Then Judah came near unto him and said, O my Lord, let my servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my Lord's ears. and let not thine anger burn against thy servant, for thou art even as Pharaoh. My Lord asked his servant, saying, Have ye a father or a brother? And we said unto my Lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one, and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him. And thou saidst unto thy servants, bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him. And we said unto my Lord, the lad cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die. And thou saidst unto thy servants, except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more. And it came to pass, when we came up unto thy servants, my father, we told him the words of my Lord. And our father said, go again and buy us a little food. And we said, we cannot go down. If our youngest brother be with us, then we will go down. For we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us. And thy servant, my father, said unto us, ye know that my wife bear me two sons. And the one went out from me, and I said, surely he is torn in pieces. and I saw him not sense. And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. Now therefore, when I come to thy service, my father, And the lad be not with us, seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life. It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die. And thy servant shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant, our father, with sorrow to the grave. For thy servant became sure as he to the lad and to my father, saying, if I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father forever. Now therefore I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad, a bondman to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brethren. For how shall I go up to my father and the lad be not with me? Lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father. May God bless the reading and now the preaching of his holy word. You may be seated. Brothers and sisters, the Lord speaks to us out of two marvelous chapters of scripture today. Does he not? In Genesis 44 and then this evening in chapter 45. When I had the privilege of being with you a few months ago, we went through Genesis 37, and then Genesis 38, and then 39. And we noted how in this portion of Genesis, Genesis 37 through chapter 50, we see what many call the Joseph story. But we also see that Joseph is not the only prominent character in this book. We see how Judah is a very important figure and so if you were to get to the end of this book in chapter 49 as Jacob the father is giving out his blessings to his children and as you read how he blesses Judah and how he says that the shep the scepter shall not depart from Judah and you see there a messianic blessing you might think how did Judah get this blessing if you've been paying attention only to Joseph And so then you might want to rewind and to read through this section again, chapters 37 through 50. And note how Judah figures so prominently in this section of scripture. And he does. In chapter 38, we saw God's way with Judah, where God begins to work in Judah's heart, a man who was evil. This was the man who had hatched the plan to sell Joseph as a slave. We see there how God begins to work in him. And here we see more of the fruits of that. We see Judah's intercession, as now Joseph and Judah have been brought on stage together. Up to this point in Genesis, the author, Moses, has been looking at, has been focusing more on Joseph from chapters 39 up to 41 about his rise. and his brothers at this point have come to Egypt for a second time. And in chapter 43, it concludes with a wonderful banquet that Joseph lays out for his brothers, with Benjamin receiving five times as much as any of theirs. And they drank and were merry with him. Chapter 43 concludes. So here we see Judah's intercession in chapter 44. And with the Lord's help, we're going to go through the chapter with some notes of exposition, then some notes of doctrine, and then finally, some of application. So how can we exposit the text? How can we go through the text and break it down in parts and understand what is being taught to us here? We can understand this in two main parts. The first of these being the test. The test which we read in verses 1 through 13. And so what Joseph does is he hatches this idea to test his brothers to see their true character. And there really seems something ingenious in the way in which he sets up this test for his brothers. And we're going to go through and note some of So first of all in verses 1-5 we see how Joseph sets up the test. He speaks to his steward and he gives him this command to overtake his brothers as they return to the land of Canaan. and to then accuse them of having stolen his silver cup. And that cup would be planted in Benjamin's bag without the brothers' knowledge. So as we look at this test, let's note the item that Joseph uses as an occasion for the test. And this is really interesting. So Joseph uses a cup. This is a silver cup, a cup of future telling, a cup of prediction. And now, in one sense, this is a very fitting item to use, and it makes sense because of what was just happening. There was a feast. And Benjamin, of all people, is blessed with all of this food, and perhaps also even more drink than his brothers had. So it could be, in one sense, a believable charge that one of these brothers would steal a cup of Joseph's and that also it would be Benjamin who would do this. Now, if you're like me, there's a question that comes to your mind, and you might ask, how could Joseph say that he would use a cup of divination, which we usually understand to be sorcery? Of course, we don't believe that Joseph was engaged in such a wicked and a twisted sin, but how could Joseph even say that that is what he was engaged in? And this might be the interpretation that comes to us at face value. However, that might not necessarily be what Joseph is saying. And I'll give a few suggestions to you otherwise without being too dogmatic. First of all, if you have a Bible like mine, if you have a Westminster Reference Bible that has some marginal notes in verse 15, for example, the word that's translated divine as a verb can also be understood as to make trial. So, at least in the minds of those who produced this translation, this version of scripture, this edition, that's another way in which that word can be understood. I'm not exactly sure where that comes from, just looking at the Hebrew myself, but others have seen it that way. As I did a word study on this, it's also used as observing the signs. or learning by experience. And so Joseph perhaps could be saying this is a cup by which or with which I observe the signs or with which I learn by experience. There are a couple texts where we see this usage, for example, in Genesis 30 verse 27, where Laban says, I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake. And in 1 Kings 20, we read, now the men did diligently observe whether anything could have come from him. With observe, I believe, having the same word that is here. And so the word translated divine may not necessarily even indicate sorcery, in my opinion. And that would be, at least as I see it, a strange thing for Joseph to say. And so as we look at this item that's used for this test, as we look at this silver cup, let's note a few things. First of all, Joseph really can tell the future. Joseph is one who really can make these predictions. This was even known by Pharaoh back in Genesis 41, 37, in verse 38 of 41, where he says, can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? So Joseph really can tell the future. That's one of the main things, a big idea in this section of Genesis. And so let's recognize that that is there. And so we see some of the fittingness of this item, of the cup that is being used here. But also let's see what the cup symbolizes. This cup, being one that is used of prediction, actually symbolizes why his brothers hated him all the more, and sold him in the first place. If you remember back in chapter 37, his brothers hated him because of his father's favor, and also because of his heavenly father's favor, as he spoke to him in dreams. And through those dreams, Joseph was predicting, he was telling the future. And so then Joseph and his design in this test uses an item, this cup of prediction, which symbolizes why they hated him and sold him in the first place. And so we see Joseph's cleverness in doing that. And we see how he is casting this test to sort of replicate the circumstances the way that things were before. And so perhaps Joseph's brothers see this cup of prophecy, of prediction, and they remember Joseph's predictions also. So Joseph, in this test, he is setting things up. He is very much replicating the original circumstances of how things used to be back when they hated him and sold him into slavery. But also note this. In this episode with the cup, the brothers actually fulfill Joseph's original prophecy. This cup, which symbolizes prediction, brings about the episode in which the brothers now bow down before him. Look at verse 14. And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house, for he was yet there. And they fell before him on the ground. And so through this cup of prophecy, the brothers truly fulfill Judah's, Joseph's prophecy. At first they hated him for it, in Genesis 37, and now they are humbled before him. So we see how Joseph uses this item for the test and how fitting, how suitable it is, how it helps to set the stage and make the circumstances very similar as to how things were before as he tests how they will respond, as he tests their character. But we can also note the person he designs for the test. This person is Benjamin, his brother. And along with this cup that is being used, Joseph is replicating or trying to replicate the brother's original condition. So we can think of how Benjamin, like Joseph, is the son of Rachel, Joseph's other full brother, who is dearly beloved by his father. He was the object of special attention of Joseph in chapter 43, verse 34, when Joseph gives him five times as much as the others. And now Joseph presents this to him, to Benjamin. And we can also note, not only is Benjamin Rachel's other son, dearly loved by Jacob, But now there's the punishment that he's being faced with, and that is this, of slavery in Egypt, of a lifetime of slavery in Egypt. So now all these things are lining up. In all these ways, Joseph is setting this test so that it will be very much like what the brothers did with with Joseph himself to see how they will respond. The beloved son of Rachel, now facing a lifetime of slavery in Egypt. And this is brought about by the item that symbolizes prophecy. And this is very much like what we do just in our scientific method. And perhaps some of you younger people have studied this in school. If you want to test something, what you do is you lay out the situation, the scientific circumstances. with only one thing different in order to see if that one thing different is, well, that really is going to bring about the change that you are looking for. And so what Joseph is doing here is he's laying out all these similarities in this test to see if his brothers really are going to change, to see how different they are. So we see how Joseph sets up this test and the fittingness of this test, replicating these circumstances in verses 1 through 5. And then verses 6 through 13, we see how Joseph's brothers are brought into the test. And as we read this, we see how they are overtaken, and the steward that overtakes them speaks to them the word that Joseph commands. And we see the brothers' response. We see how they are so confident, how they exude this show of confidence that there is no way, they believe, that any of us could have done this thing that we are being charged with. doing. And they offer this rationale. Look at all that we returned unto you that was sent with us wrongly. It was a mistake, they believe, earlier in their first journey back. And they think, this is great evidence of why we wouldn't do something like this. Nevertheless, they are so confident. They take down their bags. and they begin to be searched. But I would say also that they are over the top in their confidence. What do they say should be the punishment if the cup is found? They say in verse 9, with whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my Lord's bondmen. This is a punishment that does not fit the crime. This is a penalty of death for stealing a cup and a lifetime of slavery for everyone else. And so we see perhaps too much confidence, maybe a little bit of a, maybe more than a little bit, of a prideful spirit that the Lord still needs to break. Of course, the Lord had worked in Joseph's brothers. He had worked in Judah up to this point, but there's still a little bit more work that needs to happen. So you can just imagine as the steward goes through their bags, and these bags are searched. They start with the oldest and go to the youngest. They start with Reuben, and he goes through Reuben's bag, and Simeon's, and Levi's, and Judah's, and bag after bag. their brother's confidence increases. Their sense of justification over this ridiculous pursuit, over this ridiculous arrest of theirs perhaps increases. And if anyone would be innocent, of course they would think it would be Benjamin. Benjamin was not involved in the selling of Joseph after all. He was the youngest. He had nothing to do with that. But then what happens? They finally get down to Benjamin. His bag is searched, and oh, the huge disappointment. As Joseph's cup is found in Benjamin's bag, and I'm sure they remember what they said, with whomsoever the cup be found, let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen. Oh, what a massive disappointment that would be. One that we can hardly even imagine. And look, in verse 13 it says, And in here, in this verse, I believe we see changed hearts. We see regenerate hearts. How would they have responded if they were like as they were before? Would they have let Benjamin go into slavery in Egypt and they go their merry way back to Canaan without any regard for him? If the brothers had been as they were before, I imagine this is exactly what they would have done. They didn't have to go back. Joseph was not making them return. He wanted Benjamin, he said. First of all, we see how they tear their clothes. And this itself is a sign of regret, a sign of mourning. And for us, a sign that shows that they were repentant men. I think it's interesting, there's only one other chapter, one other scene in which we see the tearing of clothes, or I should say, in which we see the exact word here for rending or for tearing. It's in chapter 37. First, the oldest brother, Reuben, tears his clothes in verse 29, but in verse 34, when Jacob hears the news, he hears, he tears his clothes. So Jacob tears his clothes on hearing the news of Joseph's being sold into, or Joseph's rather, he has been sold into slavery, but he believes he has been killed by an animal. And that word is not used again in Genesis until this point, when the brothers are faced with something very similar. Now with Benjamin, he could go off into slavery to Egypt, and he has been caught, allegedly in this crime. Now they rent their garments. And perhaps it's interesting if you were to think, when did the brothers ever rend someone else's garment? Well, I don't think the text says that they rend Joseph's garment from off of him, but they did remove it from him. So maybe also you have a contrast there of them removing Joseph's garment and taking that away, and now them rending their own garments when something very similar happens. So we have the test. Through both of these things, through Joseph setting the test and his brothers being drawn into the test, that's laid out. Then secondly, in terms of exposition, we have the proof, as Joseph's brothers are now proven through the test. And this we see in verses 14 to 34. We see, first of all, Judah's confession of guilt. in verses 14 through 17. I'll read to you especially verse 16. And Judah said, What shall we say unto my Lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants. Behold, we are my Lord's servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found. So let's look here at what Judah is confessing, as Judah is making some confession of guilt here, as he is now brought, as he is arraigned before the sovereign of the land. He doesn't know his Joseph, but he is arraigned and brought before him. It's interesting to think what is going on in both of these men's minds now as Judah stands before Joseph. I'll say first of all, it's interesting how Judah now takes a place of leader among his brethren. He first acting as the one, as the leader who hatches the plan to sell Joseph into slavery. And he now stepping up and acting as a leader among his brothers who is going to be interceding on behalf of the brother who's condemned. into slavery. So what's going on in Judah's mind? What is Judah really confessing? Well, as far as Judah knows, this man who is before him, this leader of Egypt, he sees them as wrong in the theft. So Judah sees Joseph as believing that Benjamin and his brothers, but really Benjamin, are wrong, that there is guilt there. But truly, in the way that Joseph sees it, Joseph knows that Judah sees Joseph as seeing them wrong, but Joseph also knows that they're not wrong. Joseph knows that the brothers, that Benjamin, is innocent of the crime. And so, again, we see the cleverness of Joseph. The genius plot here, perhaps, that he has set up. So, Joseph knows their innocence. He knows Benjamin has not stolen the cup. And so, if Judah confesses to something, if the brothers confess to something, he knows they are confessing to something else. And here, that is exactly what we see. Judah is now confessing not the sin of the stolen cup, but a sin that was far worse than that. A sin of having their brother sold into slavery, their brother as the one who was stolen away into slavery in Egypt, as far as they knew for his entire life. And that is exactly what happens. And so we see in verse 16, God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants. He doesn't say the iniquity of Benjamin. He never confesses and says explicitly that Benjamin sinned. But he says, we have sinned and God has found out our iniquity. iniquity. And this shows Joseph how God has worked in his conscience. And Joseph sees how his brothers are now passing this test. They are being proven They're proving themselves through this test. And also note how in verse 16, Judah changes the penalty. Now in verse 9, the brothers said that whoever was found with a cup, he would die. In verse 16, Judah says, let him be a servant. Let all of us be servants also. So Judah begins to come through on his promise that he made to Jacob. In chapter 43, he told Jacob, or I'm not sure which chapter, I think it's 43 verse 9, that he would be surety for Benjamin. And now, with Benjamin being faced now with death, as they have said, let him die, Judah steps up in this measure and says, at least let Benjamin be a servant. He's going to change later as we read through the chapter and offer himself and Benjamin's stead completely. And so that's where we go next. So first of all, Judah's confession of guilt in 14 to 17. Then secondly, Judah's offer of substitution in verses 18 through 34. This is a great speech and perhaps as we were reading through this, the rhetorical elegance shined through and we saw that these are not mere empty words. These are words that show a man who not only has rent his garment, but who has also rent his heart. I have heard that Hebrew scholars note this is the longest speech in Genesis. There's no other speech in the book that is this long. And also it is the most rhetorically elegant speech in the book as you look at it in the Hebrew. And I think some of that comes through in reading it in English. Also, we just read through this chapter and we see the beauty of a man who is pouring himself out, who is offering up and opening up his heart, and sincerely offering up his own self in the stead of his brother whom he loves. In verse 18, there's this introductory verse where he prays for an audience before Joseph, the great ruler over Egypt. In verses 19 through 29, he recounts the story, the dialogue between Joseph's brothers and Joseph himself. And then also the dialogue between him and his father. And then in verse 30 through 34, Judah offers himself as a substitute for his brother Benjamin. Those are mighty, powerful words. In verse 32, for thy servant became surety from the lad unto my father, saying, if I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father forever. Now therefore I pray thee, let thy servant abide, instead of the lad, a bondman to my lord. And let the lad go up with his brethren, for how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? Lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father. And here, brothers and sisters, we see how Judah proves this test. He proves himself through the test. He shows a profound love for Rachel's son, the beloved son of Jacob, now condemned to a lifetime of slavery in Egypt. He is unwilling that Benjamin should undergo Joseph's original fate. So we see how Judah stands up out of his love for Benjamin, also his love for his father, and he stands in his place. And we see something of this later in the Old Testament record also. Think about the tribes. Now we know that the kingdom divides into north and south, and Judah is the great southern tribe that remains faithful. However, there is one other tribe also. And who is that? It's Benjamin, a smaller tribe. But Benjamin is there alongside Judah. So perhaps we see that played out and mirrored in Old Testament history. And this might be somewhat of a stretch, but we know that the Lord Jesus came from the tribe of Judah. And who was a great servant of Jesus, like the Apostle Paul, who accomplished more good than he did since the resurrection of Christ? And from what tribe is Paul but Benjamin? In 2 Timothy chapter 4, near the end of his life, Paul says something like this, Everyone has left me, but the Lord came and stood by me. So perhaps even there, we see something of this, of Benjamin and Judah by his side, being mirrored and played out. In verses 32 through 33, we see how Judah offers himself in Benjamin's place, how Judah now comes through in his promise to Jacob. He did say in chapter 43, verse 9, He says, I will be surety for him or of him. And in verse 32, he says, for thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father. And the idea of surety is that of being responsible for something, of being accountable for something, of now, in this case, paying the price, accepting the responsibility for what happens to him. Judah is now the surety. for Benjamin. And perhaps this is far more than Joseph himself could have expected. Perhaps Joseph just wanted to see changed hearts and pleading for Benjamin's life and not even expecting that Judah would step up in this way in intercession for him. And Judah does this out of love for his brother, but also out of love for his father. The word father appears many times in this chapter. In fact, it appears 15 times. More than the word for brother, more than the word for lad. We can also see Judah's humility, his humbleness, his true contrition, his repentance. as he blames not Joseph as the one who is making a false and untrue accusation, but he accepts the blame for his and for his brother's own sin. We can also note how the last word of this chapter is father, which I think tells us something. And we can also see here as Judah does this out of love, not only for his brothers, but for his father, for the love of his father, how our salvation is not about us ultimately, is it not? Does Jesus love us? Yes. Did Jesus die for us because he loved us? Yes. But is that the full picture? Is that the most important thing that's going on? Did not Jesus also love His Father? Was He also not obedient to the will of His Father in His incarnation on earth as He performed the work of a mediator? Yes, He was. And this motivates Him as He goes to the cross, as He offers Himself in our place as a substitute for us. So we see much here in the text about the Lord Jesus Christ. And this brings us now to some points of doctrine as we go through the text. What are some things that we can learn about this passage in theological terms? Well, as we just mentioned, there's the doctrine of Christ. Now, we believe that both Joseph and Judah are types of Christ. And we went through this when we went through Genesis 37 and 38 a few months ago. Certainly, Joseph is a type of Christ. I believe Judah also is a type of Christ. And here, Judah intercedes as a savior for Benjamin. Judah is his surety. He stands in his place now that he has been charged with this guilt. And Jesus is the surety of the new covenant, as the book of Hebrews tells us. And Jesus stood in our place on the cross of Calvary. And even now, Jesus intercedes on our behalf. He is the great mediator between God and man. And what Judah does is he offers up his own life in essence. He gives this radical gesture of atonement. He will bear the penalty, all the blame, all the guilt of what Benjamin is about to receive. And you can also note how Judah says that he would bear this guilt forever. He uses that word, which indicates to us something that is without a limit. What other punishment is without limit? We know how the Lord Jesus Christ took upon Himself, how He bore the infinite wrath of God. As He saw the cup of wrath that was held out, as He takes it, as He drinks it down to its very dregs, every last bit, that His divinity and the Holy Spirit upholding Him as in His human nature, He suffered and underwent the fury of God's infinite and boundless wrath and punishment. We see this exemplified and pictured in Judah and fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. And because of the sacrifice of Christ, there is salvation that is held out for all who will believe. For all who will look upon Him and call upon Him in faith, there is salvation. Yes, there is wrath that is coming on account of sin. There is an infinite, boundless, limitless, and endless punishment that is going to come upon those who sin against the Lord, and that's all of us. But there is also a substitute. There is also one who has offered himself in the place of sinners. One who has taken all of that wrath upon himself. What is there now for the sinner to do but to receive that? To have the faith to look at the Lord Jesus Christ, to repent of his sins, turn away from the sins and look and come to the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness, for salvation. Sinner, do that today if you have not done that. If you have not cast your sins from off of you and come to Christ and received Him and trusted in Him as the One who takes your sins away and as your Savior, your Mediator, do that now. Look to Him now. What is holding you back from coming to the Lord Jesus Christ? He is willing to receive all who come to Him. He says, all ye who are weary and heavy, lay it in. He says, come and I will give you rest. So today, at this hour, come to the Lord Jesus Christ. He turns away none who come to Him in sincerity. He turns away none who turn from their own sin and following the ways of the devil and of their own flesh, turn away from that and who turn to Him. He is the great substitute. He fulfills an ultimate and limitless essence what Judah here only pictures. And as great as the image of what Judah does is, as great as we can even picture giving up your entire life in slavery, what Jesus underwent on our behalf is infinitely more great. Let us come to him and let us worship the one who has interceded for us in this way, who has given up his own life. So we see Christ exalted, lifted high in a text like this, pictured in even such a faulty center as Judah. Let us come to him. Let us worship him. I believe we see also Christ in Joseph. Look at the one who is receiving this confession of sin and then granting pardon. Now, I could see an argument here that Joseph pictures the Father, as you have an intercessor on behalf of one who has been condemned to a punishment. And then you have a great sovereign, a leader, who grants pardon. So perhaps you could say that Joseph pictures God the Father. But also, let's recognize that throughout this text, Joseph has functioned as a type of Christ. And we noted several of those things as we went through Genesis 37. And I believe, I would imagine you also would believe that Christ does forgive, that Christ does pardon of sin. And so here, I see Joseph as this sovereign who grants pardon, who forgives sins, who accepts this offer of atonement, and Judah as one who offers atonement on behalf of another for his forgiveness. So that in these two people, in two different ways, we see the Lord Jesus Christ. Not completely in one figure versus another, but just like we can look at priests and kings in the Old Testament, and even the way in which they interact in their different roles and see how they picture Christ. In these two men, I think we see Christ also. These two types of Joseph and Judah. He is both the one who has the authority to forgive sins, And he is the one who offers himself on account of sins, as though he was guilty. He is the one who can say, thy sins are forgiven. And he is the one who bears those sins away. And of course, Judah, as a mere man, as a mortal, as a sinner, falls far short of Christ in this regard. He showcases his own need for forgiveness. He showcases a great display of repentance. And in this regard, let us follow Judah. Let us also be willing to completely open up our hearts to confess our sins and to humble ourselves in this way. So we see Christ in this chapter. We also see a doctrine that sin brings consequences. Sin brings consequences. It brings misery. This expresses to us God's attribute of justice, that God must be just. And as just, either in this life, and often in this life, or in the next, sin will bring consequences. And we read that in verse 16, when Judas says, God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants. Very similarly, Numbers 32, 23, be sure your sin will find you out. Of course, we know that Jonah could not hide. He could not run away from the Lord. And let me also read to you something similar in Amos, starting in chapter 9, verse 1. I saw the Lord standing upon the altar, and He said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake, and cut them in the head, all of them, and I will slay the last of them with the sword. He that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered. Though they dig into hell, thence shall my hand take them. Though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down. And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out hence. And though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them. There is no way that the unbeliever can escape the consequences of his own sin. Their sin will find them out. The Lord will come after him, whether in this life or in the next. Colossians 3, 5, and 6, Paul mentions several sins, and then he says, on account of these, the wrath of God comes upon the children of disobedience. So sin brings consequences. We see also the conscience. A conscience that is distressed, it is disturbed, it has been awakened by this sin. It's burdened by sin. I heard a pastor friend of mine recently, if I get the story right, he was going through William Ames, a Puritan, on the conscience, going through one of his books, and a short description of the conscience that he presents there is in two things. It is an internal law and an internal judge. Conscience is an internal law, it is an internal metric of telling you right and wrong, and an internal judge. You either feel acquitted or condemned within yourself because of your conscience. So we see several things here in terms of doctrine as we look at Christ, as we look at God's justice, how sin brings consequences, and also the doctrine of the conscience. And now, what are some points of application that we can make from this text, from this glorious passage of scripture in which we see Judah's intercession? Well, there's not much here that's stated explicitly in terms of application. We have the gospel that is presented here written large. Well, I shouldn't say we don't have much that's said here for application because with the gospel we can say repent and believe. The gospel, the truth about Christ, and the fact we should repent and believe is not just a doctrinal point we should confess. It is a command that we should obey. Men are commanded to repent. They are commanded to believe. And so, sinner today, repent of your sins, believe in Christ. Whether you are converted or unconverted, you should still be repenting of your sins, and you still should be coming to Christ. So repent and believe today. Repent and believe now. And I also see that these two words, repent and believe, they comprise a summary of the Gospel message, as we see in three people in the New Testament. What is the message of John the Baptist that we hear? Repent and believe. What does Jesus preach after his baptism? To repent and believe. In Acts chapter 20, what does Paul say he has testified of? Of repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. So today, whoever you are, all of you, repent and believe. We see also that you should acknowledge your own sin. You should confess your sin. Acknowledge your sin first of all, logically speaking, first of all to yourself, I believe. Be real with yourself. When you have sinned, when you are sinning, acknowledge that. Do not try to. Excuse it. But along with that, immediately with that, confess your sin also to the Lord, for you have sinned against Him foremost. David will say in Psalm 51, after he has repented of his adultery and murder, against you and you alone have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. And also, if you have caused offense to others, if you have sinned against them, Go to them also and confess that sin. Make things right that's necessary. Another application is that of brotherly love. You see how the brothers of Joseph were turned around from once hating their brother to now loving their brother. We see also how Judah embodies what Jesus says in John 15, 13. Like greater love hath no man than this, that he should lay down his life for his friend. So you also should show this brotherly love. You should do this for those who are your brothers and sisters by nature, to your own family, to your own kindred. That's a good application to make here, to love your own family. There is a special love that your own children, your own siblings, your own parents, grandparents, grandchildren are due because they are your family. That's not necessarily owed to others. I think we can also say this in broader terms about a nation. I think that there is good reason to be patriotic in a certain sense and having a certain love for your own nation and for your own people. Paul speaks about having natural affection as a good thing. And also, on a deeper level, we should love our brothers spiritually, of those who are brothers and sisters in the faith. This is a deeper love. It is a more profound love and a deeper connection than even our natural connections with our own family. So we should love our local church family. We also should love the broader church family. in a certain denomination, of course, being one body. But also, we should have a love for the universal church family of which we are a part. Think of Christ as the head of the church, and the entire visible church and invisible church that is united to Christ is part of that same body. And you ought to love a brother and sister in Christ, no matter who they are, no matter what church they belong to. If you run into a Christian believer in public, they might go to a church that is far less sound, far less pure than you would like them to go to. But if they are a believer, you should rejoice. You have found a brother or a sister. So love them in Christ. A final application we can give is that regarding grief, actually. So we see noted here Jacob's grief in this chapter. And this application is to grieve in the right way. It is possible to sinfully grieve. It is possible to grieve too much. I believe that Jacob is guilty of that. I think that's clear, as he has the prospect of losing another son. And even when he loses Jacob, how he mourns. Probably in the wrong way, or at least probably too much. First of all, let's say it would be wrong not to grieve to lose a loved one. You should grieve. Death is an unnatural thing. Abraham himself grieved when his wife Sarah died. We also should grieve at losing loved ones. But it's also possible to grieve too much or to grieve in the wrong way. Now Paul will say in 1 Thessalonians 4, he mentions those who grieve having no hope. We should not grieve at the loss of believers as those who have no hope. We should grieve in a right way. Grieve even having hope of eternal life, of resurrected life, of our loved one's body and soul being united together once again. There's also the danger of resting too much on a mere human for our joy and our contentment. I think Jacob is guilty of this also, finding his contentment and his joy too much in his children, Jacob and, excuse me, Joseph and Benjamin. Our joy, our contentment should be in Christ. As Paul says, he has learned in all things to be content. And we should also be able to rest in Christ during trials, even during difficult trials such as this. So what is the application if we lose a loved one who was a believer? As we said, we grieve, but with some hope. What is the application if we lose a loved one who is an unbeliever? What a terrible thing that is, first of all, and let's recognize that, and there needs to be a grief that happens, and perhaps some of you have lost a loved one who is an unbeliever, and you don't have that hope that you would have for one who is in Christ. There is grief that should happen, but is it possible to grieve too much? I think so. Revelation describes the everlasting state in which God will wipe our tears away. It's possible to be so weighed down and to grieve for such a long time and in the wrong way, but that is not pleasing to God, in my view. Should we grieve also for the evils of our church or for our nation, those around us? Yes, we should, but we should do it in a way in which we don't lose sight of God's sovereignty, in which we don't lose sight of the fact God is in control of all things. We still have the hope and the confidence that we hold out in Him, that He is working all these things that we see around us for His own glory. And also, lastly, should we grieve for our own sin? Yes, you should grieve for your own sin. Is it possible to grieve over your sin too much or in the wrong way? Well, yes, it's possible to grieve over your sin in the wrong way. Your sin can become so grievous and terrible and frightening in your sight that you could be losing a sight of God's forgiveness. of the fact that God has a benevolent disposition toward you, that he has forgiven you of that sin. So you should have, you should feel assurance of pardon if you have been pardoned, if you have confessed that sin. So it's possible to grieve over your sin in the wrong way. Is it possible also to grieve over your sin for too long? Well, in one sense, no. We should always have a holy hatred of our sin and a deep regret of our sin that always should be there. And we can grow in that hatred and grow in that regret throughout our life. We should not sorrow as Judas sorrowed. He is a bad example of that. But we should also remember how God is said to forget our sins. Now, of course, that's speaking in a certain way. God is not going to be treating our sins as they deserve, as those who are in Christ. And so he is said to forget our sins. And perhaps also, I would say, there is something that is there for us also, of us not dwelling continually upon the evils that we have done, having a certain confidence and belief that the Lord has forgiven us of those sins. So those two things do need to go together. Our deep repentance, a holy hatred for our sins, thanking the Lord for forgiving us of our sins, but also grieving over them in the right way. And there's much more that we could unpack and talk about in terms of application. But as far as grieving over our sins, We should grieve over our sins when we come to Christ, when we repent of them. And as Judah is the one who offered himself in the stead of Benjamin, and Christ is the one who offered himself in our stead, we repent and we grieve over those sins and we come to him in faith with a confident assurance. that if we are in Christ, our sins have been forgiven. 1 John 1, 9, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Amen. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the word which Thou hast given to us and how in it we read of the Lord Jesus Christ. We see Christ who is lifted up as a sacrifice, as an atonement for sins. Lord, let us come to Him. May the world see Christ lifted up and exalted as we speak of Him in our mouths, as we model Him in our lives. May they look to Him also. May they see His glory. and may thou be pleased to grant unto them forgiveness of sins also. Forgive us of our own sins this day which we commit in thought, word, and deed, and help us to be righteous as we pursue holiness and pursue being conformed more into the image of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. In whose name we pray, amen.