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Biblical Hat Trick: Joseph, Judah, and Jesus

God uses strange ways to speak to the hearts of people. God uses creative ways. The Bible is filled with story after story in which God used unusual methods and means to get the attention of certain folks. Consider the following short list as we get started today:

• Moses – God using a burning bush to speak to this disgraced prince in Exodus chapter 3
• Balaam (or Balam depending on your pronunciation) – God used a donkey to speak to this pagan prophet in Numbers chapter 22
• King Saul in 1st Samuel 15 – God uses the sounds of some sheep and goats and cattle to turn the tables on this wayward king
• The widow of Zarephath – God used an empty meal barrel and a dead son to speak to her in First Kings 17
• Naaman the great general – God used an Israelite slave to speak directly to him, and that's in 2 Kings chapter 5
• Simon Peter in Matthew 26 – God uses a rooster to speak to his own fallen friend and disciple

The list could go on and on for quite a while, but those few instances are enough to prove my point to you today. God will use whatever means necessary to penetrate the hard heart of humanity with a message He wants a person to hear.

This passage in Genesis 44 teaches us that same truth as the story of Joseph and his brothers continues to unfold. God uses a simple silver cup to open the door to forgiveness and reconciliation. See, after all of these years, God brings the guilty brothers of Joseph to a place of repentance through the use of Joseph's silver cup.

The chapter kind of unfolds like a novel. I want you to see how God uses a simple silver cup to soften the hearts of Joseph's brothers and create a placeholder, a substitute, out of good old Judah. I want you to notice that this incident involves three things: it involves strategy, a confrontation, and a confession. And as these three parts of the story unfold for us today, I hope God speaks to your heart.

1. It Involved a Strategy (Genesis 44:1-9)

Joseph and his brothers had just enjoyed a time of celebration back in chapter 43. The brothers still do not know who Joseph is, but he is dropping hints here and there, and Joseph is incredibly intentional. If you look close, you will see how he is setting them up. And while he's setting them up, he's still protecting Benjamin each step of the way, and he's trying to see if these guys have changed.

For instance, when he seats the brothers at the table, they are seated in birth order. Now, the brothers were told where to sit – this wasn't a "belly up to the table" – it was assigned. Genesis 43:33 says this:

"They were seated before him in order by age, from the firstborn to the youngest. The men looked at each other in astonishment."

They feel like the hand of God is moving against them – they're already starting to feel it.

Also, in the very next verse in 43:34, Benjamin, Joseph's only full brother, is given five times as much as the rest of the brothers during the meal. Joseph is playing these guys like a fiddle.

Okay, so now the meal is over and the next day has dawned, and the brothers are feeling pretty good about things. Things went pretty good – they have convinced the prime minister of Egypt that they are not spies; they have rescued their brother Simeon who was in prison while they went back to Canaan; they're about to return home with more grain for their family, all their money, and most importantly, they are returning home with Benjamin, just as Judah had promised his father earlier in chapter 43.

So the morning dawns and the men take their grain and their animals and they set out towards home. No doubt they are filled with excitement about going home to their families and their children. No doubt they are congratulating themselves over their successful mission to Egypt. I'm not saying they were pouring Gatorade on each other, but it could have happened.

But what they don't know is that God is working behind the scenes to bring them face to face with a sin that is some 22 years old. And God is using Joseph's very intelligent strategy to get them there.

Now, while the men are preparing to leave, Joseph tells the steward of his house to prepare the grain that they need. His order is, "Give them as much as they can carry" in verse 1. He tells the steward to give their money back also. Then Joseph tells his steward to do something very strange – he tells the man to take his personal cup, place it in a sack that belongs to Benjamin in verse 2.

Now this is done, and the men set off towards home. When they have gone a little while – I don't know, an hour, hour and a half maybe – Joseph sent the steward after them to stop them and confront them about the cup in Benjamin's sack.

See, the steward follows them and accuses them when he stops them of repaying evil for good. He accuses them of stealing Joseph's silver cup in verse 6. The brothers deny the charge and they seek to defend their honor in verse 7. They remind the steward they have plenty of money, so it isn't likely they would steal the cup in verse 8. They are so sure of their innocence that they make some strong promises – they swear that if the cup is found among them, the guilty brother will die and the rest will become slaves in Egypt. That's in verse 9.

Now, at first glance, this is a strange way for Joseph to treat his brothers. See, in this passage, Joseph is testing these men to see if they've changed and if Benjamin is going to be saved. And I think God is using Joseph as an instrument to draw these men to a place of repentance and complete restoration.

See, years before, these men had conspired against Joseph in an effort to get rid of him in Genesis 37, and they had strategized to harm Joseph in a severe and incredibly hard-hearted way. Now the tables are turned, and Joseph is using step-by-step action, a detailed, intentional strategy against them. But unlike his brothers, Joseph is not doing this as an effort to harm them – he's working out scenarios for his own peace of mind and their eventual good.

Divine Providence in Our Lives

Now, this is also a great reminder to us – there are no accidents in life. If you are a child of God and you love the Lord, every event in your life is of divine providence. Every event goes over God's desk for approval before it comes to you. Remember in our Romans series that we're in the middle of: Romans 8:28 –

"For all things work together for good for those who love the Lord."

God is working out His will in your life that you and I can't comprehend.

Isaiah 55:8-9 says this:

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways. This is the Lord's declaration. For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

We don't understand everything that goes on around us. That's why with simple childlike faith we trust the Lord. And just like the brothers in this narrative, this even includes the way God deals with our sins.

God Knows How to Get Our Attention

There are times when we allow sin to abide in our life – we just let it go. After a while, we can get used to sin and the presence of sin to the point where it no longer even bothers us. That's a dangerous place to be. Or we may come to think we've gotten away with some sin, or that because we've not faced any judgment or chastisement over that sin, the fact is God knows exactly when and how to speak to our hearts. When the time is right, He will touch the right buttons and humble us and bring us to a place of repentance.

You and I have a heartstring – everybody does. There is something in your life that if God were to touch it or even take it, it would get your attention. In the Old Testament when Absalom was rebelling against David, he wanted Joab to come and see him. Joab didn't want to come, just ignored him. So Absalom burned his barley field. Joab then went and saw Absalom. For David, when he committed adultery with Bathsheba, it was their infant son. For Abraham, it was his son Isaac.

Follow it – it's all throughout Scripture. God knows how to get our attention, and He is not afraid to touch or take what He pleases to speak to our hearts, especially if we're His children. He has a silver cup, and He can place it in our lives to open our eyes and open our hearts when we have walked away from Him. Sooner or later, the silver cup will end up in your grain sack.

We have come to believe that we can get away with sin. Like Adam and Eve, we think we can cover it up with some flimsy fig leaf of our own making. God, however, will settle for nothing less than total confession and repentance in His children.

We have come to believe that we can just do whatever we want – we can hide our sin. But God knows where our skeletons are buried, and He will uncover them in His time. The best thing that we can do with sin is to hate it, to reject it, and to confess it to Him.

1 John 1:9 says this:

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

How is that not on the forefront of our minds every day?

See, when we refuse to confess, there will be a high price to pay for our disobedience. We may not understand it all, but that is what is happening in these verses. God is in the process of burning the barley fields of these brothers of Joseph. God is in the process of getting their attention. He is using Joseph's strategy to bring it back to Him.

2. It Involved Confrontation (Genesis 44:10-13)

We want to be so non-confrontational as a society, don't we? Well, the sacks are opened and searched. These brothers know they have done nothing wrong. You can just see them standing there with their smug expressions on their faces. Each sack is open and the silver cup is not found. They grow more and more confident.

But when they open Benjamin's sack, the sun glints off a piece of highly polished metal. Uh-oh. To their disbelief, there in Benjamin's sack is Joseph's silver cup.

This is the moment of truth. This is Joseph's final test of his brothers. All this time Joseph has been testing them to see whether or not they've really changed, and they've already passed several tests. Already back in chapter 43, they brought Benjamin as Joseph had requested; they returned for their brother Simeon – didn't just leave him to rot in prison; they even returned all the grain money that had been given back to them.

But this is the ultimate test. Twenty-two years earlier, they had hated Joseph so much that they attacked him, cast him into a pit, and sold him into slavery. They had broken their father's heart by lying to him about what had happened to Joseph. They had maintained that lie for all these years.

Now they have the opportunity to get rid of the other son of Rachel. I think it's clear from the text that Jacob loves Benjamin. I think it's clear that Benjamin replaced Joseph as his father's favorite son. All they have to do now is allow Benjamin to be arrested and taken back to Joseph, and they can simply go home. Oh yeah, it would break the heart of their father, but they had endured those heartbreaks in the past. Who cares?

This is the test. This is the ultimate right here. These men don't know it, but they are about to reveal to Joseph what kind of men they really are. They're about to reveal to him that they have changed, they have grown, they have repented.

The Brothers Pass the Test

And these men pass that test with flying colors. They do not know how the cup got in Benjamin's sack. At this point, that particular fact doesn't even matter. They are determined to face whatever comes together. They tear their clothes – that's a sign of grief – and they go to face the music as one. There are no accusations thrown at one another. There's no compromises. There is simply a unified resolve to stand by their brother.

What we see here is a picture of 10 men who are finally ready to do the right thing. Here are 10 men who have finally grown up and who are willing to face the consequences together. These men have grown to a point where they can see beyond themselves. They have a desire to do right regardless of the personal cost.

That's the place that God would like to see all of us get to. He wants us to come to the place where we stop making excuses for our behavior. He wants us to come to the place where we are willing to own up to our own sins.

Taking Responsibility for Our Sin

God wants us to stop pointing fingers at others. My sins are not my parents' fault. I can't blame my evil on my spouse or on my surroundings or on my environment. If I'm going to enjoy the cleansing and forgiveness offered through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, I have to deal with my sins openly and honestly. If I'm going to have the power of God on my life, then I have to do these things.

If this church is going to have the power of God on it, I need to stop waiting on any of you to get it right and do it right, and I need to get it right and do it right myself. I can't control your part, but I am responsible for my own. And I hope each one of you says that back to yourself in the mirror later today. That's the fact, Jack.

God wants each of us to reach a place where we're willing to do the right thing regardless of the personal cost. Have you reached that place? I asked myself, have I reached that place? But I think for both of us it may depend on the day. I think we may wobble at times, and that's why the Scriptures say daily in keeping with repentance.

See, know this – we can with His help. And I don't know about you, but I want to get there. I want to get there. There may not be a touchdown – it might just be first downs for the rest of my life, but I want to get first downs. Why? Because God is not afraid to confront us at the very point of our sins in order to open our eyes and our need for repentance.

These brothers are facing the things they are facing because God is determined to get their attention and bring them back to a right relationship with Him. If God's doing that in your life, celebrate, because you belong to Him. And He will do the same in your life and in mine.

The best thing we can do is learn to keep short accounts with God. Sin should be confessed immediately, completely, and honestly. And when it is, then it can be forgiven and the blessings of God can freely flow into our lives.

3. It Involved Confession (Genesis 44:14-34)

When the brothers arrive back at Joseph's palace, they find him still there in verse 14. That's important, y'all. Joseph's the prime minister of Egypt, and he stood there waiting to see who was coming back. He wanted to see who would show up. Would it be Benjamin alone, or would the rest of the brothers be with him?

By the way, at this point in the story, I am convinced this was Joseph's way of possibly protecting his brother Benjamin from the brothers. He still didn't know if Benjamin would even be safe on the return trip.

And when the brothers appear before Joseph, they now bow themselves to the ground before him again. This fulfills the dreams that started this whole series with Joseph as a young man when he had the coat of many colors back in chapter 37.

So Joseph confronts his brothers about the silver cup. He leads them to believe that he was able to see what they had done because of his ability to do divination. Divination was very popular in ancient Egypt. Sometimes diviners would take a cup and put wine in it along with jewels, and they would read the jewels like some people try to read the tea leaves.

Of course, divination does not work, and Joseph did not practice black magic. He was using Egyptian theater to continue to hide his identity and turn the screws on the brothers. That's the point of that.

Judah's Eloquent Speech

Now at this point, Judah steps forward and delivers one of the most profound and eloquent speeches known in all of Scripture. A careful examination of the speech reveals just how far Judah has matured.

In verse 16, Judah confesses their sin. He doesn't name names, but he does confess the fact that they had sinned and that God was punishing them for their sin. He seems to believe that what they are about to face – which is slavery in Egypt – is a direct result of unconfessed sin. He offers himself along with the rest of his brothers as Joseph's servants.

In verse 17, Joseph refuses Judah's offer and tells him and the rest of the brothers to go home. He also tells them that Benjamin will have to stay as a slave.

Then we get to verses 18-34. These verses are the heart of Judah's speech. He reminds Joseph that the only reason Benjamin had to come with them was because Joseph had demanded it. Judah tells Joseph that Jacob will die if anything happens to his youngest son.

Next, Judah offers himself in Benjamin's place. He offers to stay in Egypt as Joseph's slave so that Benjamin can return to Canaan with the other brothers.

A Major Turning Point

This is the moment that Joseph has been waiting for and working for since his brothers showed up in Egypt. He now sees that they have changed. He now sees that they are remorseful for what they had done to him.

And this is also the moment that I have been waiting for in this entire 12-point series, because here we see the power of God in confession and Judah steps up as a substitute for Benjamin. Confession surrounded by surrender. Can you feel it?

By the way, who is our substitute? Jesus, right? What tribe does Jesus descend from? Of all these brothers, Jesus descends from one tribe – it's Judah, right? Jesus is known as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Is that a coincidence? I don't think so.

He sees that the brothers are willing to stand together as one man, which is one of the most glorious things on planet Earth. They had the chance to turn their backs on Benjamin, but they didn't. Judah stands up and puts his father, Benjamin, and the rest of his brothers ahead of himself.

This is a major turning point in the story. When Joseph hears Judah's confession and sees the love for the family in action, it is more than he can stand, and Joseph breaks down before his brothers and reveals his identity to him. That's the next verses in chapter 45:1-4, and we'll look at that moment maybe in another message.

The Nature of Sin

But today there is a lesson here that we need to take to heart. Judah shows us how sin is to be handled. His actions also remind us of the very nature of sin. Let's consider two things before we bring it home today.

Sin, by its very nature, is a very selfish thing. When sin entered the world, it entered because Eve and Adam were selfish – she chose herself over the Lord. When sin entered the universe, it entered through selfishness. Every sin we commit is still rooted in selfishness. And this is so hard to stand up here and talk about.

1 John 2:16 says this:

"For everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of one's possessions – is not from the Father but is from the world."

Our sins are all about us. When we sin we choose ourselves over every other person and every other thing. We are saying, "I want what I want. I don't care what the consequences are." Sin is a very selfish act. When we sin, we're choosing ourselves over God, over His will, over the church, over our families – over everything but our own selfish wants, desires, and wishes.

Sin is rooted in selfishness. And here's the problem for Americans in 2025 – for us, unfortunately, we live in a culture that celebrates self above all else.

Emily was watching one of her fufu shows, and I walked in and there was a commercial on there, and both of us – our jaws dropped open. And we backed it up and we watched it like two times like, "Did we really see that?" It was a cosmetic commercial and the tagline was "Worship yourself." How about something you might know – Burger King – "Have it your way." That's just part of it. Now they end with "You rule." It's everywhere.

Growth in the Christian Life

When our hearts are as they should be, the Lord, His will, and the needs of others start to come before our own desires. You know you're making progress in the Lord when you refuse to sin because of how it'll affect the Lord's work and because of how it'll affect others.

See, many times people turn away from sin because they're afraid of being caught. That's all right. A mature believer looks at sin and sees the damage it can do to the church, the community, the Lord's work, their family, and others.

The only way to get past sin is to deal with it honestly. Like Judah, we have to come to the place where we confess our sins and get them out before the Lord and before those we have sinned against.

Now, we've dealt with it already in the message, but sin must not be hidden – it must be confessed. And when it is, the Lord can extend forgiveness and restoration. The sin can be put behind you, and you can move forward in the Lord. And that's an awesome place to be.

Three John only has one chapter, and in verse four John says:

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."

John was saying that his greatest joy as a preacher and an apostle is to see the people he ministered to growing and walking in the truth he had taught them. Many of us parents know that feeling – it's a real thing.

That's the same feeling that must have gripped Joseph as he looked at and saw Judah's broken heart and heard his heartfelt words. The brothers of Joseph had finally grown up, and now they're ready to make things right.

Three Questions to Consider

And as I bring this to a close today, let me just ask you three questions:

1. Are you growing in the Lord?

Are you growing in the Lord? Well, how would you know? You can know that you are growing in your relationship with the Lord Jesus when you begin to hate sin. You know you are growing when you are willing to tell the truth about your own sins. And you know you are growing when you reach a place where you are more concerned about others than you are about yourself.

2. Are there sins in your life that need to be confessed?

Straight up. Maybe you need to get before the Lord today and deal with some of the sin in your life. Maybe you need to go to someone you've hurt and confess that hurt to them. Things may never be as they could be until you do.

3. Are you afraid that there may be a silver cup in your future?

If you know that there are areas of your life that are not where they need to be with the Lord, and you fear that He might resort to drastic measures to get your attention, I'd encourage you to come to Him and deal with the matter now, because those silver cups are not fun. Do you know that that sin that's on your mind right now? That's the Holy Spirit calling you to come to God and deal with the matter. In my opinion, it's far better to come to the Lord and humble yourself in repentance than it is to wait for Him to bury a silver cup in your grain sack.

So if the Lord has spoken to you today on any level, you need to come to Him today and do what He is telling you to do. You do what you would have Him do in your life. And may God bless you and may God restore you, because through confession and repentance – it's God's strategy that He would use in our life to have us grow to be better servants for His kingdom. And that's what we want. We want to grow stronger in the Lord for such a time as this. And that's how you do it.