The only one answer to 100 problems of me (Gen 42:1-5)

The only one answer to 100 problems of me (Gen 42:1-5)

Jacob’s family whom God loved and blessed faced a great famine. 

After seven years of abundance, seven years of famine began, so the family of Jacob also suffered in Canaan.

They finished all the food during 1^styear famine. Now second year of famine, they have no food anymore so they were starve to death.   

Seven years of abundance passed like nothing, but the seven year famine had no one to bear. 

Jacob could not understand why Jacob was starving to death in the land of blessings God had promised. 

At that time Jacob heard that there was food in Egypt. 

So that the family of Jacob had to go to Egypt to buy food to eat and live. 

Do you know that, actually, this situation was made by God in His plan for moving Jacob’s family to Egypt. 

Because there is food only in Egypt, the family of Jacob had no choice. They must go down to Egypt to get food. It was only the way that they could survive. 

But Jacob and his sons never wanted to go down to Egypt. 

So they tried to keep up with the food they had, but finally, they would starved to death if they did not go to Egypt. 

Jacob finally sent his sons to Egypt to get food. 

But Jacob did not send Benjamin, his youngest son, because he was afraid. 

For them, it was very afraid to go down Egypt. 

The reason was that Egypt was in a hostile relationship with this Canaanite land. 

So, it was in a situation where war could happen at any time. 

If they went down to the enemy country for food, they were not sure whether they could actually get the food or not, and what was going to happen when they went to down there. 

So that they were very afraid of going down to Egypt. 

And Jacob believed that God did not like them to go to Egypt. So he did not want to go down to Egypt. 

But God makes them to go down to Egypt through the seven years famine. 

And we need to understand why God wants to send Jacob’s family down to Egypt. 

The reason is that God could accomplish His promise that He will make Jacob’s family a great nation in Egypt. So that God told him to go down Egypt. 

At Gen, chapter 46:3, 

When Jacob finally went to down to Egypt God gave a clear answer to go down to Jacob. 

“ go down, I will make you a great nation there.”

In fact, Jacob’s family was about 70 people when he went to down to Egypt. 

About 70 people become a ethnic groups is almost impossble. 

Because the surrounding tribes can trample these 70 people in a day. 

70 people is a very small number that can be destroyed at the moment, and it can be easily assimilated and mixed with another nations religiously and culturally to lose all the characteristics of God’s people. 

But Egypt was the strongest country of its time. So that nobody was able to hit Egypt. So if they go down there, and live there, they will be protected from other people. 

And the Egyptian did not like live with other nations. So when Jacob’s family came down, they were family of prime minister, but they designated a place called Goshen, where they would go and live separately. 

 So that, the land of Egypt was a shield, and at the same time, they received Goshen land to not be mixed with inhabitants of Egypt. As a result, they were more than three million for four hundred years in Egypt. 

Then God makes this nation return to the land of Canaan. All of this is the history of the Exodus. 

Because God had such a plan to move the family of Jacob to Egypt, but Jacob will never move to there himself. So that God sent severe famine to all the land and had grain in Egypt. And God let the Joseph went to down Egypt to become prime minister. After that God move the family of Jacob to Egypt through the famine and the prime minister, Joseph.

Sisters and brothers in the Lord, there is a very important lesson here. 

If we became children of God in Jesus Christ, there is no reason to be afraid of suffering. 

Have you really become a child of God in Jesus Christ? If yes, you no need afraid of it, even if you will starve to die.

It is because God has plan to move for you. 

Therefore, if you are truly children of God who believe in God, even though 100 problems and 10,000 difficulties come to us, we have only one answer.

What is the answer?

Even though so many difficulties come to us, if we truly and fully trust God and obey, everything will be solved. 

The only God has solution for us.

So, if God says come down to Egypt, then come to Egypt. 

1 Thessalonians 5: 16-17 says, rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 

We have the only one answer to 100 problems for us, which is to rejoice always, praying continually, give thanks in all circumstances, and following the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 

There is no reason to worry, you can just leave it to God completely. 

Brothers and sisters,

Remember that we cannot solve our problems by ourselves. 

But there is what we can do. It is leave it to God. 

Jacob and Joseph’s brothers were afraid to obey God’s work to move them to Egypt. 

At the beginning, Jacob was not allowed to take Benjamin, Joseph’s brothers about to go down Egypt to get the grain, but the bothers say if they not bring Benjamin to Egypt, the prime minister of Egypt will not give food.

Then he sent Benjamin not willingly. 

And after Jacob heard that Joseph was alive, finally he move to Egypt. 

Jacob did not fully entrust himself to God and hesitated. 

The lesson God speaks to us is not to do this, but to entrust it to God. 

Joseph faced very difficult thing that he could not understand, “why it happened to me, what’s going on?”

When he was sold a slave and taken to Egypt, he decided, “ I will leave it to God.”

So that, he had a peace. 

And he work very hard at the Potiphar’s house.

Why? Because he leave all the problem to God so he is peaceful. 

So, Potiphar liked him. 

And Joseph became a household secretary at Potiphar’s house.

But he was unfairly caught up in prison because of the wife of Potiphar.

At that time, Joseph entrust himself to God. 

So that, even though he was imprisoned, he got the favor in the keep of prison. So the keeper of prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in prison. So he received training in prison to supervise everything. 

If you fully entrust yourselves to God, He will lead exactly your way. 

Sometimes, the difficulty that why me? come to you even though you are children of God. 

But in the midst of that circumstances, there is only one answer. 

God says “rejoice always”, so we rejoice, and He says, “pray continually” so we pray, and He says, “give thanks to the Lord”, so we give thanks to God, and we follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 

Whatever we meet difficult circumstances, there is a way. 

God is guiding us the way to overcome the problems and finally to glorify God. 

So, please be sure it. Don't be shaken. 

The brothers of Joseph came down to Egypt to get the grain, but their heart were always troubled and full of fear. Especially, when they met the prime minister, Joseph, and he misunderstood them as spies. They were really afraid. 

In here, we could see what’s different between Joseph and his brothers.

When Joseph were sold as a slave and taken to Egypt, he had been convinced of that God is with me. so he was not afraid and shaken at all. So God could eventually make Joseph the prime minister of Egypt. But Joseph’s brothers were not at all.

God’s guidance was no different between Joseph and his brothers. 

Then, why Joseph’s brothers had no confidence in God?

Why were they so afraid?

This is actually our problem as well. 

Among us, some body still have no confidence even though they believe that God is my God, and Father, and I saved already through the Christ. 

Then, how could have this confidence?

Joseph and his brothers came down Egypt, when they came there not only the brothers suffered but also Joseph suffered. Actually, he suffered more than his brothers. 

Then, why his brother were not sure that God is with them and guiding them?

Because Joseph’s brothers had sin that didn't repent. 

When Joseph examine them, they said about themselves in verse 11 that, “we are honest men…not spies.”

But, are they honest men? 

But they thought so. 

They supposed to kill their brother, Joseph before. And they sold their brother to Egypt as a slave. They were human traffickers. And they are liars. They told their father, “Joseph was killed by animals. 

Then, how could they say they are honest men?

Could they say so before God?

How about you? How do you think of yourself? 

When Joseph heard this, he might thought that “ah, my brothers are not ready yet”

Joseph was ready his mind to say, “brother, I am Joseph”.

Joseph knew that God sent him to Egypt ahead of their family, and made him a prim minister at there to preserve his father and his brothers. 

And he knew that the only way his family to survive is to come down Egypt.  

And he have no intention to revenge to his brothers at all. 

But when his brothers’ heart must be ready first to get a blessing that God had prepared. 

But his brothers were not ready yet. 

Joseph’s brothers believed in God, but they were so afraid that they could not bear it. 

Because they were not repenting what they must repent. 

Joseph had confidence in God because he had no blocking in relationship with God. 

When the temptation of Potiphar’s wife came, he took off this top and ran out. 

From Potiphar’s wife, he was hated but in front of God, he lived without any same. 

Therefore, even though Joseph unjustly was drawn to Egypt, he was convinces that God is with me, God is protecting me in this circumstance. 

when there is no problem in relationship with God, the only that time we could believe it. When you really could believe it that God is with me, and protecting me, then, there is nothing to afraid of. 

After Joseph heard his brothers’ answer, he put them prison 3days. It was not revenge. 

It is because his brother were no ready yet. 

After being imprisoned in jail, Joseph’s brothers remembered that they sold their brother to Egypt in the past. 

They couldn't image that the prime minister of Egypt are able to understand their language , and they said in their own Hebrew dialect. 

“ we are guilty concerning our brother”

When Joseph heard it, he could know that, ‘my brothers realized their sin, now they are ready.” So he told them, he is Joseph, their brother. 

The confession of ‘we have sinned’ opened the door between Joseph and his brothers.

And it opened the door to Jacob’s family to come to Egypt. 

When they repented properly all the door what have closed were opened. 

Brothers and sisters,

Repenting is blessing, and only the way to live. 

It is my conclusion.

There is the only one answer always even though we face so many problems.

If we follow the God’s guidance, everything will be solved. 

The problem is that we have to have confidence that God is with me, and if follow whatever God guide me it will be solved. 

Do you have this confidence?

If you don't have this, check it out before the Lord whether you have sin which is blocking the relationship between God and me like the Joseph’s brothers.