Sun.’s Devo - The Weight of Guilt

Read: Genesis 42:18-43:34; Matthew 13:47-14:12; Psalm 18:16-36; Provers 4:7-10 After the three days, Joseph met with his brothers and told them to prove their story, he would keep one of them and let the others go home and bring back their youngest brother to show that they were telling the truth. Then the one he kept would be set free and they would be considered innocent. *** The men spoke out loud about how what was happening to them was because of what they did to Joseph. They didn’t think Joseph could understand them because he had spoke to them through an interpreter, but he could understand. He kept Simeon, maybe because he was the second oldest. Rueben, the oldest had tried to save Joseph. Joseph gave instructions to his servants to put the men’s money in the sack with their grain and let them go home. *** One of them found his money on the way home and they were afraid. When they returned home they all found their money in with the grain they had purchased and were afraid. They told their father what had happened and he was upset they had told the man about Benjamin. They told Jacob they had just answered the man’s questions. They had no idea he would ask to see Benjamin. *** When they ran out of grain, they convinced their father to let Benjamin go back with them. Rueben guaranteed his life to bring Benjamin home. Jacob finally agreed and they all returned to Egypt. *** Joseph saw them and told his servants to go kill a fatted calf because these men were going join him for lunch at his home. *** The brothers were still so filled with guilt and fear they couldn’t enjoy the honor of being invited to the home of the second in command of Egypt. They explained to the servant about the money and tried to give him the money back but he wouldn’t take their money. He played dumb to putting their money back in their bags. *** When Joseph saw Benjamin he had to go into the other room to cry. He came back and had them sit down in the order of their birth. I’m thinking that this was probably the way they had sat at home. They were amazed that he would do that. When they brought in the food, Benjamin was given five times as much as everyone else. Joseph, because of their tradition, ate in another room. *** Jesus gave one last parable about the end of the age then said that everyone who understood these things was like a scribe with a house full of understanding of both the past and the future. *** Jesus taught these parables in his own home town and they were astonished and offended because they knew him as a boy. They couldn’t understand who he was. Jesus told them that a prophet has honor everywhere but in his own country. Their unbelief stopped him from doing many miracles there. *** When Herod heard the reports about Jesus, he feared John the Baptist had risen from the grave. He had had John beheaded as a gift to Heroidas’ daughter. John had spoken out of his sin in taking his brother’s wife Herodias as his wife. At Herod’s birthday, Herodias’ daughter had danced before Herod and he had offered her anything she wanted. Her mother had told her ahead of time to ask for John the Baptist’s head on a platter right now. Because of his guests, he had to save face and do it. *** Herod’s guilt haunted him just as Josephs’ brother’s guilt haunted them. Time doesn’t take guilt away… confession and repentance does. *** Lord, may we lay all our sins at the feet of the cross and leave them there. May we not be coerced by guilt or be condemned by repented sins. May we walk in the freedom of Christ and fear no evil.