Spurling Silver: God Unburns Bridges, Genesis 42:25-38

Last week we talked about Joseph’s Dispute Resolution. How Joseph had been seriously hurt and how the Lord helped him face his giants and walk through the hurt to healing.

Multiple people said that message really hit home. Indicating that multiple people have been hurt.

That must mean that multiple people have hurt others, intentionally, or unintentionally.

So, as the Lord would have it, today we look at the flip side of that coin. Joseph’s brothers; the primary source of his hurt.

You see, God is not only interested in reaching the hurting, but also those who caused the hurt, who’ve burned bridges.

Have you ever burned a bridge so badly that now there’s nothing you could ever do to restore it?

Don’t give up. There’s still hope.

God unburns bridges.

Genesis 42:25-38

Then Joseph gave a command to fill their sacks with grain, to restore every man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey.

Thus he did for them.

26 So they loaded their donkeys with the grain and departed from there. ²⁷ But as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the encampment, he saw his money; and there it was, in the mouth of his sack. ²⁸ So he said to his brothers, “My money has been restored, and there it is, in my sack!”

Then their hearts failed them and they were afraid, saying to one another, “What is this that God has done to us?”

29 Then they went to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying: 30 “The man who is lord of the land spoke roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. 31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. 32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan.’ 33 Then the man, the lord of the country, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for the famine of your households, and be gone. 34 And bring your youngest brother to me; so I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. I will grant your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’ ”

35 Then it happened as they emptied their sacks, that surprisingly each man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.

36 And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are against me.”

37 Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.”

38 But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.”

You have a mission

Joseph commanded they take a journey. Go home, get your youngest brother, Benjamin, and return.

We’ll see later in a few more chapters this was just the first step that led to bringing the entire family together as one, to him.

Here, Joseph is ruling and reigning. However, not long before this he was despised and rejected, sold and stripped, bruised, falsely accused and imprisoned.

Yet, God raised him up to the right hand of the throne over all the land.

Now, from this place of authority he knows those who are his and sends them on a mission with provision and an awesome plan to bring them from the land of famine into his land of abundance.

We’ve already discussed in previous messages how the Lord speaks with types and shadows, and pictures and parallels, and parables.

So, if this reminds you of Someone, that’s good, it should.

Jesus has a mission for you. If you accept it, He fills you, equips you and makes provision for you, to fulfill your mission, complete your journey, to be with Him in His land of abundance. Life and Life more abundantly. John 10:10.

We must pay attention because as we journey on this mission, we’re given tests, that we must pass to move to the next level.

Tests sometimes come disguised as blessings.

So, the boys opened their feed sacks, grocery bags, and their money was inside.

Have you ever forgotten to swipe something at the self-checkout? Or the cashier forgot to charge you for something? Or the drive-up window person, or the bank teller, gave you too much money?

Then, you discover it after you’ve already left.

What do you do?

Answer wisely, because it’s a test. You’re graded on how you answer. It determines if you move to the next level.

A. Did you go back in and rescan the item that was missed? Did you tell the teller they gave you too much money?

Or...

B. Did you say: “Woohoo! God just blessed me!”.

If you chose the latter, you flunked. God never blesses by dishonest means.

Test times aren’t always hard times, sometimes they’re disguised as good times.

Some tests are easy to see, like what Joseph went through. Thrown in the pit by his brothers, then sold into slavery, slandered, falsely accused, cast into prison.

Others are more subtle, like the sneaky serpent in the garden.

Solomon says it’s the little foxes that spoil the vine. Song of Solomon 2:15

Jesus tells us that if we’re faithful in little we’ll be faithful in much, if unfaithful in little we’ll be unfaithful in much. Luke 16:10.

A little spark kindles a big fire.

Failing little tests leads to failing big ones.

Speaking of tests. Let’s pause and look through a prophetic lens toward our nation.

We saw a big obvious test with COVID.

However, there was a little test leading up to it January 18^th, 2019. When a kid named Nick Sandmann stood silently for about 10 minutes while native American Nate Phillips beat a drum, like a war drum, in the face of the boy, and the media with one voice crucified the kid on national television and social media.

It seemed like, on that very day a hoard of fear-injecting demons were unleashed on our nation.

Much of the “church” infected with fear, looked away, were divided, dysfunctional and silent. Or worse, many nodded in agreement with the demonically driven media and masses that cried, “Crucify him, crucify him.”

This was just a small test, a spark that ignited a raging inferno.

Lord, give us ears to hear what Your Spirit is saying to the Church.

That very fear-injecting day, was exactly to the day one year from when the first positive test of COVID was taken from a human in the United States of America, January 18^th, 2020.

Two days later, January 20, 2020, the news was announced, spreading panic and fear throughout the world, (which just happened to be, three years to the day, from the previous inauguration day, January 20, 2017).

The fear that came from that news quickly metastasized, changing our nation and the world, forever.

With fear at the helm, successfully shuttering, masking and muzzling the “church”, the demons were free to come out and play in full display 5 months and 5 days later, May 25^th, 2020.

Their media minions once again fueled the masses, this time with George Floyd. They manipulated minds into calling good evil and evil good. Suddenly rioting, burning, looting and shooting, was funded, applauded, promoted. Robbing a store was no longer called theft, but “symbolic taking.”

Reducing real live vile and violent insurrection into what they blindly called, “peaceful protests”. So, a few months later when grandmas and grandpas carrying American flags peacefully strolled into the capital building on Jan. 6^th, they never dreamed they’d be the ones who’d be vilified, falsely accused, called insurrectionists and thrown into prison.

The lukewarm fear infected so called “Church” bent a knee, not to pray, but bow to the god of woke. The devil’s counterfeit religion.

God calls, “Awake oh sleeper!” Ephesians 5:14.

The devil hisses, “sleep oh woker”.

All of which, lines up with Biblical prophecy of the signs of the times in which we now live.

There is quickly approaching a false sense of peace and prosperity. A time we’ll find extra money in our sack and be tempted to say “woohoo, God just blessed me.”

Since Nov 6^th, the stock market is breaking records, folks are making fortunes on bitcoin, talks of peace have ignited amongst warring nations.

Don’t be fooled, when the stock market goes up and the prices go down, don’t drop your guard, stay alert, steadfast in prayer, pressing hard into God.

This is no time to relax.

Soon they’ll be saying “peace and safety” but then, sudden destruction will come like a thief in the night. 1 Thessalonians 5:3.

The days of deception are upon us and growing ever stronger.

Israel will prosper and grow strong and (appear to be) a people at peace (a false sense of peace), then, Russia and Iran and Turkey and others will gather against her. Ezekiel 38-39.

To avoid being deceived we must be ever faithful in the little things. The little tests. Remember, failing little tests leads to failing big ones.

The little test is the first step down a path that leads to great things... or horrific things, depending on how we answer.

So, when you find extra money in the mouth of your sack, be wise in how you answer.

When a guilty conscience and the goodness of God collide.

When they saw the extra money in their sacks, they were afraid. The boys said, “What is this that God has done to us” and Jacob said, “You have bereaved me.”

You probably never said that when the teller gave you back too much money. But with Joseph’s brothers there’s more than one dynamic at work.

1. A guilty conscience.
2. The goodness of God.

Life is messy.

This is a collision between a guilty conscience and the goodness of God.

Lately they’ve been thinking a lot about their brother Joseph. They talked about him right in front of him in Genesis 42:21-22, “we are guilty concerning our brother... his blood is required on us”

Probably, subconsciously they recognized him, but clouded by guilt they couldn’t see through it.

They burned that bridge so bad, so strong and so long ago, they couldn’t imagine it ever being restored. But...

God unburns bridges.

That’s what He’s doing here. He’s in the ministry of reconciliation. 2 Cor. 5:18-19.

Hold on a second.

The bad boys just got their money back and a sack full of food and provision to boot. That doesn’t seem right.

Don’t they need to say sorry, repent, get punished, pay a fine, or something?

Good question.

That brings us to the second dynamic at work here. The goodness of God.

God is perfectly just and knows the condition of all hearts. He’s not mocked. He won’t wink at sin. Wont’ overlook it. But...

God's goodness leads to repentance. Romans 2:4.

Dear bridge burner, are you unable to accept God’s goodness?

When someone offers to help, do you always turn them down?

Do you feel guilty when something good things happens to you?

I know of a person who refused to receive help, even from God. One day they were given a generous gift, with a note stating that the gift was from God.

A few days later the gift was returned, rejected.

Immediately after that, the person was deceived repeatedly by thieves who swindled away multiple hundreds of dollars.

Dear bridge burner, don’t you know you’re sabotaging your own life by rejecting the provision and protection and goodness of God?

God is building a bridge to you. Stop burning it down.

Dear bridge burner, if some unexplainable goodness comes your way, before you reject it, stop and consider, it may be a test, from the One who can unburn the bridges you’ve burned.

It’s not too late. But it is up to you. Will you pass the test by opening up and saying yes to His goodness?

Had Joseph’s brothers paused for a moment to consider God’s goodness perhaps they’re eyes wouldn’t have been clouded by guilt and they’d have recognized their brother a whole lot sooner.

Tests aren’t always hard fiery trials, sometimes they’re disguised as blessings.

Dear bridge burner, God wants to do good to you, so He can do good through you, and turn you from a bridge burner into a bridge builder.

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, thank You for building a bridge back to us, by Way of Your cross.

We want to pass tests. We want to stop burning bridges and start building them. But we know without You, we’ll crash and burn every single time.

So, Lord, we humble ourselves before You and ask for Your help to be overcomers, test passers and bridge builders, for Your glory alone.

We love You, forever.

Amen.

Prayer Requests:

Call or text: 612-554-2522

Email: pray4measap@aol.com

Facebook: Church at WPV