Joseph No.12 The Benjamin Factor

We're reading verse 15. It's a long reading, but it's an exciting story, so we shouldn't really switch off. Genesis 43, 15, So the men took the gifts, and doubled the amount of silver, and Benjamin also.

They hurried down to Egypt, and presented themselves to Joseph. When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal, and prepare dinner. They are to eat with me at noon.

The man did as Joseph had told him, and took the men to Joseph's house. Now the men were frightened when they were taken to his house. They thought, We were brought here because of the silver that was put into our sacks the first time.

He wants to attack us, and overpower us, and seize us as slaves, and take our donkeys. So they went up to Joseph's steward, and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. Please sir, they said, We came down here the first time to buy food.

But at the place where we stopped for the night, we opened our sacks, and each of us found his silver, the exact weight, in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back with us. We have also brought additional silver with us to buy food.

We don't know who put our silver in our sacks. It's all right, he said. Don't be afraid.

Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks. I received your silver. Then he brought Simeon out to them.

The steward took the men into Joseph's house, gave them water to wash their feet, and provided fodder for their donkeys. They prepared their gifts for Joseph's arrival at noon, because they had heard that they were to eat there. When Joseph came home, they presented to him the gifts they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground.

He asked them how they were, and then he said, How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still living? They replied, Your servant, our father, is still alive and well, and they bowed low to pay him honor. As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother's son, he asked, Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about? And he said, God be gracious to you, my son. Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep.

He went into his private room and wept there. After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself, said, Serve the food. They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with them by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, for that is detestable to Egyptians.

The men had been seated before him in the order of their ages, from the firstborn to the youngest, and they looked at each other in astonishment. When portions were served to them from Joseph's table, Benjamin's portion was five times as much as anyone else's, so they feasted and drank freely with him. Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house, Fill the men's sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man's silver in the mouth of his sack.

Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one's sack, along with the silver for his grain. And he did as Joseph said. As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys.

They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, Why have you repaid good with evil? Isn't that the cup my master drinks from, and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done. When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them. But they said to him, Why does my lord say such things, far be it from your servants to do anything like that? We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found inside the mouths of our sacks.

So why would we steal silver or gold from your master's house? If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die, and the rest of us will become my lord's slaves. Very well then, he said. Let it be as you say.

Whoever is found to have it will become my slave, and the rest of you will be free from blame. Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.

At this they tore their robes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city. Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him.

Joseph said to them, What is this you have done? Don't you know that a man like me can find out things by divination? What can we say to my lord, Judah replied? What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servant's guilt. We are now my lord's slaves, we ourselves, and the one who was found to have the cup. But Joseph said, Far be it from me to do such a thing.

Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back to your father in peace. Well, let's come up to the table.

I'd like you to turn in the Word of God to the passage that you just heard read. We've been working our way through the life of Joseph. It wasn't my intention, actually, to spend a long time in this particular part of Scripture, but as we progressed, my heart warmed, as it seemed to me that God was speaking to us very much in our circumstances today, from the experience of this man, and so I decided not to take this quickly, but at a fairly leisurely pace.

It's so much easier, isn't it, when you look into the Old Testament, and I love preaching from the Old Testament, when you've a narrative, a story passage to have in your mind, and then from that story, not a story in the sense of a legend, a story in the sense of the experiences of people who've lived 3,000 years ago. When you've got that in mind, then you can project from the past to the present and learn from the lessons that these people discovered, applying them to your own heart and life. So I want to address you on something that took my attention when reading through this rather lengthy passage of Scripture on Friday, and I'm entitling my address, The Benjamin Factor.

The Benjamin Factor. You'll understand why I select for that particular title in a moment or two. Let's set down a principle from the New Testament, shall we? I believe that what God wants from you is that you become increasingly like the Lord Jesus.

I made reference humorously to Tim's height and my own height. Now physical height in itself is unimportant, but what is of greatest merit is this, that you and I grow tall spiritually. The Apostle Paul, writing to the Ephesians, makes reference to this.

He talks about us all attaining to the fullness of Christ, being as big as Jesus is. That's the goal at any rate. Now there is a word in the New Testament which theologians sometimes employ.

It's the word sanctification. If you unpackage it, it really means just becoming more and more like the Lord Jesus. And it's my belief, not only through scriptural study, but the testimony of my own experience, that God brings this about more and more as you go through the school of life.

There are many schools that you'll go to, but the most important school is the academy of life, that which you learn all the time that you're here on planet Earth. God sometimes will adjust your circumstances so that you become that much more like the Lord Jesus. You may not understand why he's doing certain things in your life, but the goal, the objective is this, that one day he wants to see you like his son.

And ultimately that's the experience that all of us are heading for. So the words of a great preacher of yesteryear comes to mind, W.G. Scroggie, who said, God calls us to cooperate with him in the perfecting of character. In the perfecting of character.

Now the place where God will teach you most is in your home family. That's the reason why I reminded you last week that Genesis is a popular book because it really is the story of families. Some families did very well, some didn't do too well.

How would you rate Jacob's family? After all, he got quite a bunch of kids, hadn't he? And when you're rating his family, turn back on yourself and ask how you rate yourself as a father, if that's your particular calling, as a wife, as a member of your family circle even if you're not married. How do you rate yourself? How did you hang together as a family? What did you learn from one another? And did the frustration sometimes that you went through help to produce in you something that is like our Lord Jesus Christ? I hope so. Somebody says by the time you get to the 43rd chapter, following through the experience of Jacob and his sons, that you can make this conclusion.

The work of God upon Joseph's brothers has only just begun. Joseph himself is instrumental, is the instrument of God and knows himself to be at work in such capacity. So far, the brothers are ready to use self-accusations.

They admit that a just retribution befalls sinners. They have not as yet consciously broken, however, with their sin, nor has it been overcome. They are not regenerate men.

You say, what on earth are you talking about? Well, those of you who have been here during the last few Sundays, you would have understood that these men, Joseph's brothers, have come to a realization that what they did so many, many years ago was a foul act. They're beginning to feel uncomfortable. You remember the story? The way that they were first manhandled by the premier of Egypt? They've come to the conclusion that God is trying to say something, but they haven't yet fully learned all that they have to learn.

They're not yet regenerate. Not only do they have a lot to learn, so does their aged father, Jacob. And into the experience of Jacob and the brothers, with the exception of Joseph, no, including Joseph, in a very special way, comes Benjamin.

He's been there all the time, but God is going to use Benjamin to teach Jacob a thing or two, and Joseph, and also the brothers. That's why I refer to this address as the Benjamin Factor. Let's first of all put the spotlight on Jacob, shall we? We saw him at the beginning of chapter 43 last time, somewhat lamenting the possibility that he would lose Benjamin.

In fact, you remember at first, and he had to qualify his words, he said that although the premier of Egypt has said that they can have, his sons can have no further food unless Benjamin accompanies them on their second journey, there is no way that Jacob is going to respond to this request. As I say, it was in one sense the very quick conclusion of an older person that had to be looked at again, because the months went by, and the life of Benjamin would be in jeopardy, as the life of all of them, unless Jacob, the old man, qualified his words. The Benjamin Factor, as it becomes forefront in the experience of Jacob, will tell him something about full surrender.

Do you know what it is to fully surrender everything you have to the Lord? At least to be prepared to do that, even if he never calls you to act on your commitment. What was the most important thing, the most important person in the life of elderly Jacob? It was Benjamin. Why Benjamin when he had 12 lads? Well, you see, Jacob's marriage career had been unorthodox.

He'd had several partners, but there was only one real wife. There is only one wife that one is designated to have, even in the Old Testament and the New Testament. I know you'll quote the Song of Solomon to me, and talk about the hundreds of wives that Solomon had, but there was only one love letter that he left, because there was only one wife that he had in the sight of God.

And as far as Jacob was concerned, that wife, her name was Rachel. Rachel, beloved of Jacob, had two sons, Joseph, who was gone. At least that was what Jacob seemed to believe as the report came back from his sons, as to the way some wild animal, do you remember the story, had set upon Joseph, and Joseph is no more.

Joseph, the beloved of Jacob, has gone to be with the Lord. And there is, however, one child left, probably only 12 months of age, son of Rachel. When he was born, his mother died, risked her life in the bearing of a child.

That's why you should always honor your mother, because they've all done that for us. And when this last child was born, Rachel gasped out his name, Benoni, son of my sorrow. But Jacob used his prerogative as her husband to change the name slightly.

He didn't want his boy to carry that through life, and so he called him Benjamin, son of my right hand. When Joseph went, he had a snapshot of Rachel on the face of Benjamin. It's probably you look like your mom or like your dad.

When Joseph was no more, the son of Jacob's right hand became forefront in Jacob's affection. But if Jacob is to move on to a place of full maturity, he must be prepared to surrender Benjamin in the purposes of God, if God wants him to do. You see, this was a principle laid down to Abraham.

Take your son, your only son, the son who you love. The words are piled up to single out the fact that between Abraham and Isaac, there is a tremendous affection, a tremendous bond, but take your Isaac, Abraham, and sacrifice, full surrender. Be prepared.

And to the credit of Abraham and the discredit of Jacob, the father of the faith was prepared, but Jacob was not. Not to start with, he put up every reason as to why Benjamin should not go down to Egypt, forgetting that his old heavenly friend had at Peniel said to Jacob, I will do you good. What God wants from you, are you hearing me? Is your commitment to him in such a fashion that you are prepared to surrender, if necessary, the most important thing in your life, in his service.

That will move you to maturity. Because if you love father or mother or sister or brother or sweetheart more than you love the Lord Jesus, if you esteem something else in your life more important than him, you are falling far short on the basis of discipleship that he outlined as being the prerequisite of you being his child. And so Jacob has this challenge.

To start with, he ducks it, but then ultimately as he regains his spiritual posture and equilibrium, and he's referred to at this point I think significantly in the account, verse 11, as Israel. Then he recalls that God is indeed the Almighty God, and it's not just a wish that he directs towards his sons and Benjamin as he commits them to Egypt. It seems as though he is declaring that God can look after his children.

As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved. Though he slay me, yet will I trust him. That seems to me to be the implication behind what Jacob is here saying as he comes to grips with the fact that he has to surrender Benjamin.

You see, it's the Benjamin factor that brings Jacob to the position of being prepared to give everything up and to leave the fallout in the future to God. With youthful enthusiasm in my native Yorkshire, I used to sing from a lovely collection of hymns entitled Redemption Hymnal. I surrender all, all to Jesus.

I surrender, I surrender all. I meant it as a teenager. I think I still mean it now.

But there are times when God will take us at our word and say, yes, if that is so, then I'm loosening Benjamin from you. Commit him to me and leave the outcome in my sovereignty. The Benjamin factor, the movement of Jacob to full surrender.

So you see Benjamin, don't you, as he sets off with his brothers on that journey to Egypt. He's never been there before. In fact, I think there's information to suggest that he's rarely been out of the eyesight of his old parent previously.

But now he goes. What thoughts are in his mind? What thoughts are in the mind of his brothers? Even perhaps more particularly, because we'll put the spotlight on him, shall we, as scripture does this. What thoughts are in the mind of Joseph, the man who is premier of Egypt, though that knowledge is at the moment removed from his brothers? You see when Benjamin comes into encounter with Joseph, when God brings the Benjamin factor into the experience of the premier of Egypt, it seems to me that he's teaching Joseph there's another movement.

There's a movement to a full self-control. Look at verse 16, will you? Joseph verse 16, when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of the house, take these men to my house, slaughter an animal, and prepare dinner. They are to eat with me at noon.

When Joseph saw Benjamin, 20 years have gone. Benjamin was just an infant, I reckon, when Joseph left home, not realizing that he'd never see his baby brother again. Can you imagine the emotion in Joseph's heart? The other brothers were half-brothers.

This is his full brother. He's been watching with keen eyesight as people have come down from Palestine, knowing that sooner or later his brothers and his own brother would be amongst them. He doesn't need to do a Sherlock Holmes to work out which is the latter, although he hasn't seen him for so long.

It's going to be the youngest brother. And when Joseph sees Benjamin, I suggest to you there comes a movement into Joseph's life in terms of developing full self-control. What would you have done? What do you think that Jesus wanted to do more than anything else when he came into the world? To save sinners.

Don't you think that he had the urge in the full maturity of his manhood of wanting immediately to show how sin is forgiven? Immediately to bring the blanket of salvation upon everyone. But he couldn't do that. There were certain things that he had to go through.

There were certain experiences through which he had to put his disciples. You see, there is that in Scripture that refers in the New Testament to a godly sorrow. A godly sorrow is what you had the moment that you trusted Jesus as Saviour.

It prompted that. A godly sorrow, it speaks of repentance, of a sense of wrongdoing, a recognition that there were things in your life which were wrong. And as a result of that you came to him.

You know what I'm talking about, don't you? Now here are these brothers, you see, and Joseph longs to forgive them, longs to make himself known, particularly when the Benjamin factor comes in front of him. But you see, unless he moves to a self-control, then he will never be able to elicit, to bring to the forefront of the experience of these brothers, those qualities of remorse and repentance which are so necessary for a full-blooded reconciliation. Not just between him and them, even more importantly, between them and God.

So when you read these verses you see how Joseph hypes up the tension, but he does so with exquisite self-control, maintaining his own poise until at one moment his emotions seem to get the better of him. Can you imagine the reaction of the brothers as they find themselves in Egypt again and they're feeling a little bit out of sorts as to how they're going to be received, after all there was this mysterious business of the money in their sacks when they got back home and then there was the problem of Simeon the hostage and so on and so forth. And the first thing that they do on being received by Joseph's steward is to be invited into Joseph's own house.

I reckon that's an invitation they could have done without, quite frankly, at the human level. And the steward, he greets him so kindly and he drops a piece of information that actually could have been a crumb of comfort, but I reckon emotionally, psychologically, they're so disorientated they can't even read the clues that there's going to be a happy outcome at the end of all this drama. Verse 23, as they apologize for the money which they found in their sacks on their first journey and indicates that they've doubled it in payment, he says, it's all right, don't be afraid, your God, the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks, I received your silver.

Quite a testimony, not so from an Egyptian. Your God, the God of your father. You see, when our Lord deals with sinners, there's always a mixture of severity and grace.

There's sufficient severity for you to be afraid of God, as indeed you ought to be, that there's sufficient grace for you to realize that as God works out his justice, he will do it ultimately, so that what is wrong in your life will be dealt with and you can have a relationship untrammeled with him as he's forgiven you. But the crumbs of comfort you can't always pick up, not when you're being convicted. Conviction is a nasty experience, that's why a lot of people stay away from the tabernacle and other similar churches, they don't like the gospel being preached, it sucked to them, quote unquote.

It's an uncomfortable business, but within the severity of the gospel there's always grace. Here are these men and their hearts are thumping in the household of the Prime Minister of Egypt, and yet the steward makes reference to your God, the God of your father. And the Prime Minister comes in, and one of the first questions he asks is, how's the old man of whom you spoke? Why should the Prime Minister be interested in this old man? Why this second reference to father? You see how Joseph is really in a dilemma, he wants to be warm and yet he's got to be standoffish, he wants to disclose himself and yet he's got to be anonymous.

He wants these brothers to realize something of the enormity of the sin that they have committed, and so in a masterly fashion that anticipates that of our blessed Lord Jesus. He has these brothers, as we would say, at sixes and sevens, doesn't he? It's a masterful story. It speaks of the inspiration of Scripture, for no human mind could have worked something out quite as dramatic and speaking to us today in such a fashion as this story does.

Verse 26, when Joseph came home they presented to him the gifts they brought from the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground and he asks, is your aged father you told me about still living? Then Joseph sees Benjamin. Oh you're right, he's seen him before but now it's close up, and he loves Benjamin. As the Lord Jesus loves you, I shall be preaching in Malaysia next Sunday.

I'm not, personal reasons have made me have to postpone it. One of the reasons I'd love to go to an Islamic land, and if God directed me so I would spend all my days there, is because I weep that Islam has such a misconception of who God is. Allah is not passionate, he's not feeling full.

Allah, he would not weep, but Jesus wept. And the God and Father of our Lord Jesus can have a heart that breaks. When Jesus is by the tomb of Lazarus, his loved friend, his emotions crack.

He sees Mary and Martha, he loves them. It's possible to love in a pure fashion people of the opposite sex. He loves them.

And he breaks because he sees the consequences of sin. This lovely family engulfed in sorrow as a result of sin, and Jesus weeps. Later on you'll find him on some high place overlooking Jerusalem, and he predicts what's going to happen to Jerusalem, and what could have happened to Jerusalem if only they'd responded, oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how oft would I have gathered you under my wings as a hen gathereth her chicks, but you would not.

I would, but you wouldn't. This is the dilemma of Jesus, I would, but you wouldn't. Here's the dilemma of Joseph, I would disclose myself to you, but at this point you wouldn't understand the enormity of what you have done.

I would, but you wouldn't. Is this Benjamin, my son? He addresses him with such affectionate terms, and has to make a hasty retreat, for emotions are running high. Deeply moved, verse 30, at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep.

He went into his private room, and wept there. You see Joseph is being moved too. Jacob, it's been a movement to full surrender.

Joseph, it's a movement to a full self-control. As Jesus had to be taught in certain areas of his life, though he be the son of God, he learned obedience by the things that he suffered. He learned to bring his emotions into control at the necessary times.

The Benjamin factor, it does all this. It helps you towards maturity, to becoming more like the Lord Jesus, but I move on. And I want to take you from the spotlight on Jacob and Joseph, to the spotlight on the brothers, because it seems to me that the Benjamin factor also applies to them, and the brothers experience what I would call a movement to solidarity.

You say, what do you mean by that? I want you to look at two instructions, and then I'll develop them, and you'll see the point. Look at verse 31, will you? There the steward is told, serve the food. And then drop down to the second verse of the 44th chapter, will you? Because another instruction is given by the unrecognized premier, as far as the Hebrews are concerned, the unrecognized premier of Egypt.

Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one's sack, along with the silver for his grain. You say, what's that got to do with the movement towards solidarity? Well, I come back to the instructions. Answer a question for me, will you? You're thinking.

Here's my question. What would you say 20 years ago were the greatest weaknesses amongst the brothers of Joseph? What were the greatest weaknesses? What were their psychological flaws? All right? Now here's my answer. The first one was jealousy.

The coat of many colors. The preeminence of Joseph. Jealousy is an emotion when unchecked it can lead to murder.

And the second flaw, and it's like the first, but there is a measure of distinction, is selfishness. Me first. Getting the best deal.

It's sometimes against those who don't like Jewish people, used as though it's a characteristic of the race, when actually it's a characteristic of the whole race of Adam. But you see, we're moving towards, are we not, or at least this is what we're looking for. This is a family circle coming back together again.

We're looking towards maturity on the part of Joseph's brothers. How will that maturity show itself? By testing them in the area of their weakness, will they behave now as they did 20 years ago? What did they do 20 years ago? They had their youngest brother, or the next to youngest brother, incarcerated in a pit. They sold him to Midianites and then to, in turn he was sold as a slave.

On the basis of jealousy. Serve the food. But look at the way they're seated.

It's quite extraordinary, isn't it? He has the men seated, verse 33 of chapter 43, he has the men seated before him in the order of their ages, from the firstborn to the youngest. How did he know? See, another crumb of information, if they've got the wit to break through their fear and realize that somebody's trying to say something very profound to them, from the eldest to the youngest. They sit at the side of Jacob, of Joseph, and in front of him.

Then what does he do? He ensures that the favorite, typical to Hebrew custom, is given five times as much as the rest of them. You see, here's the ornamental coat again. Here's the coat of many colors, if you like.

Here is the mark of dad's favor on one son over against another. Last time they were tested, they blew it. Have they learned? Has there been a movement towards maturity? And you discover that there is.

There is no indication at all of their displeasure that Benjamin is so treated. They feasted and drank freely with him. You see, Joseph is tenderly, sensitively, seriously, and spiritually testing them.

Can the family be reunited? Can they be reconciled to God? These are the issues that are in store. Will the Benjamin factor move them towards a great solidarity? Or will they fall out amongst themselves, as they did before? Are these men worthy of grace to be continued, to be given to them? Joseph puts up another test. Verse 2, chapter 44, Then put my cup, the silver one in the mouth of the youngest one's sack, along with the silver for his grain.

And he did as Joseph said. And so these men, they set off again, as they did before with their grain. Moving towards father, they've now got Simeon released as a hostage.

It looks as though everything is wonderful. The sky is just shining. The future looks bright.

They've really done very, very well indeed, in a remarkable or mysterious fashion. They have been so warmly received in Egypt. And then, the steward catches up.

Now, it's very interesting this. As the steward catches up with them, he's not bothered about the silver that's in their sacks. But what he is bothered about is the cup, the silver cup that they have seen Joseph drink from.

Verse 9, If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die, and the rest of us will become my lord's slaves. That's the response of the brothers to the allegation that someone has stolen Joseph's cup. Verse 10, Very well then, the steward agrees.

Let it be as you say, whoever is found to have it will become my slave. The rest of you, now this is the point, the rest of you will be free from blame. Here's the possibility, you see.

The man who's got the cup, he will be the slave, but the rest can go free. It's not just 20 pieces of silver that will benefit those of you who haven't stolen the cup, it's your freedom. This is what's in store.

And so, each man looks into his sack, believing that he can't be the individual. And surprise, surprise, the cup is found in the sack of Benjamin. And the man has said, and when they go back to Egypt, Joseph declares that he doesn't want the rest of the brothers.

This isn't collective arrest, he only wants the one. And the possibility is, as the test is psychologically perfect, the possibility is that these brothers, quarrelsome bunch that they would be, always in for the best deal, would settle for that. Let's go back without Benjamin.

Couldn't we get another coat? Couldn't we slay another animal? Couldn't we take the bloody coat of Benjamin and give it to Jacob again? He's more feeble than he was two decades before. The whole scenario, you see, it's a repeat. But Joseph is concerned to see whether they, in any way, have improved.

Whether there has been any building up of grace, of maturity in their lives. And the wonder is this, in the providence of God, they come through. There's never one sneaking suspicion pointed at Benjamin.

Collective guilt. We're all to blame. We don't understand it.

Somehow things have happened in our lives that we can't comprehend, but we stay together as a band of men. The sons of Jacob. And ultimately, though there's not time for me to go into this this morning, Judah releases in front of Joseph, still unknown, as Premier of Egypt, one of the grandest pleas in the whole of the Old Testament, in the whole of human literature, as to why the Prime Minister of Egypt should be merciful.

As far as their father is concerned, whose own life is bound up in the bundle of the life of Benjamin, the one who is reckoned to have taken the cup from the Prime Minister of Egypt. But you see the point? As these men stand now in front of Joseph, who still hasn't revealed himself, they're different men. There's been another movement.

A movement towards solidarity. The Benjamin Factor has had this effect. As there is a movement towards self-surrender, as the Benjamin Factor is brought home in the experience of Jacob.

As there is a movement towards full self-control, as the Benjamin Factor is brought into the experience of Joseph. I finish where I started. What God wants from you is to move you, to be more like the Lord Jesus.

Says a great Puritan preacher, William Gurnell, as God makes use of all the seasons of the year for the harvest, the frost and the cold of the winter, as well as the heat of the summer, so doth he are fair and foul, pleasing and unpleasing providences for promoting holiness. Will you take this from a Yorkshire preacher? God wants you to be more like his son. And he'll use, excuse the expression, every trick in the book to bring it about.

He wants to make you more worthy of being the son of God, daughters of God, fellow heirs of Jesus. Joseph could not have revealed himself to his brothers and reinstated the family circle unless there'd been a realization on their part of the enormity of their crime. And Jacob could never have benefited by his repatriation with Joseph, had he not have been prepared again to have surrendered the other of his favourite sons, Benjamin.

All comes out well in the end, doesn't it? And do you know something? That's just what the New Testament says. God works all things together for good, your good, to those who love God, to those who are the cold according to his purpose. Thank God for the Benjamin Factor.

God bless you.