Rev Xi An Poon
《創世記》43章表面上記載雅各的兒子們再次下埃及買糧，但在饑荒、恐懼和家庭危機的背後，神正在改變一個曾經破裂的家庭。
這個家庭過去充滿偏愛、嫉妒、欺騙和傷害。雅各失去約瑟以後，一直活在傷痛和恐懼中，因此緊緊抓住便雅憫，不願意再放手；猶大當年曾經提議把約瑟賣掉，選擇犧牲弟弟，讓自己可以脫身；而約瑟年少時從神所領受的夢，經過這麼多年，看起來好像早已被遺忘。
可是，神從來沒有停止工作。
多年過去，神不單改變了約瑟，也改變了猶大，更改變了雅各。聖經在這一章稱雅各為「以色列」，讓我們看見，他不再只是那個因恐懼而緊緊抓住的人，而是開始學習把自己最不能放手的，交在全能神的手中。
猶大也不再是當年那個逃避責任、把弟弟賣掉的人；如今，他願意站出來說：「我為他作保。」約瑟的夢也終於在神所定的時間裏，一步一步地實現。
神沒有立即改變他們的環境，卻在漫長的歲月中，先改變他們的生命。當生命被神改變，我們才能走進祂早已預備的成全。
一、被神改變，是學習放下不能放手的
「以色列說：『既是這樣，你們就當這樣行……也帶着你們的兄弟，起身去見那人。』」
——創世記43:11、13
雅各最不願意放手的人，就是便雅憫。
因為失去約瑟的傷痛，他一直想緊緊保護便雅憫。但當饑荒越來越嚴重，家中的糧食已經吃完，他不能再停留在恐懼裏。
值得留意的是，經文在這裏稱他為「以色列」。過去的雅各緊緊抓住，但以色列開始學習把自己不能控制的，交在全能神手中。
他說：「但願全能的神使你們在那人面前蒙憐憫。」——創世記43:14
真正的信心，不是知道結果一定照自己的意思發生，而是在不知道結果的時候，仍然相信神有憐憫。神改變我們，常常先從教我們放手開始。
二、被神改變，是不再逃避應當承擔的
「我為他作保；你可以從我手中追討。」——創世記43:9
當年是猶大提議把約瑟賣掉。他沒有保護弟弟，只想把問題交給別人。但多年之後，面對便雅憫，猶大改變了。他沒有再逃避，也沒有再犧牲弟弟來保全自己，反而對父親說：「我為他作保。」真正的悔改，不只是為過去感到後悔，而是在相似的處境再次出現時，作出不一樣的選擇。
從前的猶大犧牲弟弟，現在的猶大保護弟弟；從前他想擺脫責任，現在他願意承擔責任。神有時會把我們帶回相似的處境，不是為了再次定我們的罪，而是給我們機會，作出一個新的選擇。一個被神改變的生命，不再只問：「為甚麼是我？」而是願意說：「我願意承擔。」
三、被神改變，才能走進神所成全的應許
「他們就把手中的禮物拿進屋去給他，又俯伏在地，向他下拜。」——創世記43:26
約瑟年少時所作的夢，經過多年終於逐步實現。他曾被賣、被誣告、被囚禁、被遺忘。從人的眼光看，這個夢好像早已破滅；但在神手中，每一段經歷都成為祂預備的道路。
神成全這個夢，不是為了讓約瑟炫耀自己，更不是為了羞辱他的哥哥們，而是要藉着約瑟保存整個家庭。神不只預備環境，也預備人。祂預備約瑟能夠承擔高位，預備猶大成為願意承擔的人，也預備以色列學習放手和交託。有時應許還未實現，不代表神沒有工作。可能神正在先改變我們，使我們成為能夠承接應許的人。
當神所定的時候來到，我們才會明白：過去每一段看似耽延、失去和破碎的日子，都沒有離開神的手。
總結：
《創世記》43章讓我們看見，神不只是帶領一個家庭度過饑荒，更是在危機中改變他們。以色列從緊緊抓住，走到願意交託；猶大從逃避責任，走到甘心承擔；約瑟從被賣和被遺忘，走到看見應許成全。神所要成全的，不只是我們外面的事情，更是我們裏面的生命。也許今天我們仍然在等候一個答案，仍然有一件很難放手的事，或再次遇到過去曾經失敗的處境，但神沒有停止工作。祂正在教我們放手，教我們承擔，也正在預備我們進入祂所成全的道路。被神改變的人，才能承接神所預備的成全。
省察：
- 今天，有甚麼人或事情，是我因為恐懼而仍然緊緊抓住、不肯交給神的？
- 當責任來到時，我是選擇逃避，還是願意承擔？
- 當應許仍未實現時，我是否相信神仍然在改變和預備我？
禱告：
親愛的天父，求祢改變我的生命。當我因恐懼而不肯放手時，幫助我相信祢；當責任來到時，賜我勇氣不再逃避。即使我仍未看見應許成全，也求祢使我相信，祢從未停止工作。願我在祢手中不斷被改變，成為能夠承接祢旨意的人。奉主耶穌基督的名禱告，阿們。
創世記 43
1 那地的饑荒甚大。 2 他們從埃及帶來的糧食吃盡了，他們的父親就對他們說：「你們再去給我糴些糧來。」 3 猶大對他說：「那人諄諄地告誡我們說：『你們的兄弟若不與你們同來，你們就不得見我的面。』 4 你若打發我們的兄弟與我們同去，我們就下去給你糴糧。 5 你若不打發他去，我們就不下去，因為那人對我們說：『你們的兄弟若不與你們同來，你們就不得見我的面。』」 6 以色列說：「你們為什麼這樣害我，告訴那人你們還有兄弟呢？」 7 他們回答說：「那人詳細問到我們和我們的親屬，說：『你們的父親還在嗎？你們還有兄弟嗎？』我們就按著他所問的告訴他，焉能知道他要說，必須把你們的兄弟帶下來呢？」 8 猶大又對他父親以色列說：「你打發童子與我同去，我們就起身下去，好叫我們和你，並我們的婦人孩子，都得存活，不至於死。 9 我為他作保，你可以從我手中追討。我若不帶他回來交在你面前，我情願永遠擔罪。 10 我們若沒有耽擱，如今第二次都回來了。」 11 他們的父親以色列說：「若必須如此，你們就當這樣行：可以將這地土產中最好的乳香、蜂蜜、香料、沒藥、榧子、杏仁都取一點，收在器具裡，帶下去送給那人做禮物。 12 又要手裡加倍地帶銀子，並將歸還在你們口袋內的銀子仍帶在手裡，那或者是錯了。 13 也帶著你們的兄弟，起身去見那人。 14 但願全能的神使你們在那人面前蒙憐憫，釋放你們的那弟兄和便雅憫回來。我若喪了兒子，就喪了吧！」 15 於是，他們拿著那禮物，又手裡加倍地帶銀子，並且帶著便雅憫，起身下到埃及，站在約瑟面前。
16 約瑟見便雅憫和他們同來，就對家宰說：「將這些人領到屋裡，要宰殺牲畜，預備筵席，因為晌午這些人同我吃飯。」 17 家宰就遵著約瑟的命去行，領他們進約瑟的屋裡。 18 他們因為被領到約瑟的屋裡，就害怕，說：「領我們到這裡來，必是因為頭次歸還在我們口袋裡的銀子，找我們的錯縫，下手害我們，強取我們為奴僕，搶奪我們的驢。」 19 他們就挨近約瑟的家宰，在屋門口和他說話， 20 說：「我主啊，我們頭次下來實在是要糴糧。 21 後來到了住宿的地方，我們打開口袋，不料，各人的銀子分量足數，仍在各人的口袋內，現在我們手裡又帶回來了。 22 另外又帶下銀子來糴糧。不知道先前誰把銀子放在我們的口袋裡。」 23 家宰說：「你們可以放心，不要害怕，是你們的神和你們父親的神賜給你們財寶在你們的口袋裡。你們的銀子我早已收了。」他就把西緬帶出來，交給他們。 24 家宰就領他們進約瑟的屋裡，給他們水洗腳，又給他們草料餵驢。 25 他們就預備那禮物，等候約瑟晌午來，因為他們聽見要在那裡吃飯。
26 約瑟來到家裡，他們就把手中的禮物拿進屋去給他，又俯伏在地向他下拜。 27 約瑟問他們好，又問：「你們的父親，就是你們所說的那老人家，平安嗎？他還在嗎？」 28 他們回答說：「你僕人我們的父親平安，他還在。」於是他們低頭下拜。 29 約瑟舉目看見他同母的兄弟便雅憫，就說：「你們向我所說那頂小的兄弟就是這位嗎？」又說：「小兒啊，願神賜恩給你！」 30 約瑟愛弟之情發動，就急忙尋找可哭之地，進入自己的屋裡，哭了一場。 31 他洗了臉出來，勉強隱忍，吩咐人擺飯。 32 他們就為約瑟單擺了一席，為那些人又擺了一席，也為和約瑟同吃飯的埃及人另擺了一席，因為埃及人不可和希伯來人一同吃飯，那原是埃及人所厭惡的。 33 約瑟使眾弟兄在他面前排列坐席，都按著長幼的次序，眾弟兄就彼此詫異。 34 約瑟把他面前的食物分出來，送給他們，但便雅憫所得的比別人多五倍。他們就飲酒，和約瑟一同宴樂。
Genesis 43 seems to be a story about Jacob’s sons going back to Egypt to buy food. But behind the famine, fear, and family crisis, God was changing a broken family.
This family had been filled with favouritism, jealousy, lies, and pain. After losing Joseph, Jacob lived with deep fear. He held tightly to Benjamin and did not want to let him go. Judah was once the one who suggested selling Joseph. He chose to sacrifice his brother so that he could escape responsibility. Joseph’s dream, which he received when he was young, also seemed to have been forgotten after so many years.
But God had never stopped working.
Over the years, God changed not only Joseph, but also Judah and Jacob. In this chapter, the Bible calls Jacob “Israel.” This shows us that he was no longer only a man controlled by fear. He was beginning to place what he could not release into the hands of Almighty God.
Judah was also no longer the man who escaped responsibility and sold his brother. Now he was willing to stand up and say, “I myself will be surety for him.”
Joseph’s dream was also beginning to come true in God’s appointed time.
God did not change their situation immediately. Instead, through many years, He first changed their lives. When our lives are changed by God, we are able to enter what He has prepared.
- To Be Changed by God Is to Release What We Cannot Let Go
“Then Israel their father said to them, ‘If it must be so, then do this… Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man.’”
— Genesis 43:11, 13, NKJV
The person Jacob could not let go of was Benjamin.
Because of the pain of losing Joseph, Jacob wanted to protect Benjamin at all costs. But when the famine became worse and the food was finished, he could no longer remain in fear.
It is important that the Bible calls him “Israel” here. Jacob was the one who always held tightly to things, but Israel was beginning to place what he could not control into the hands of Almighty God.
He said:
“And may God Almighty give you mercy before the man.”
— Genesis 43:14, NKJV
True faith does not mean that everything will happen according to our plan. True faith means that even when we do not know the result, we still trust in the mercy of God.
God often begins to change us by teaching us to let go.
- To Be Changed by God Is to Stop Running Away from Responsibility
“I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him.”
— Genesis 43:9, NKJV
Years before, Judah was the one who suggested selling Joseph. He did not protect his brother. He chose to pass the problem to others.
But many years later, when Benjamin was in danger, Judah had changed.
He did not run away again. He did not sacrifice another brother in order to save himself. Instead, he said to his father, “I myself will be surety for him.”
True repentance is not only feeling sorry about the past. True repentance means making a different choice when a similar situation comes again.
In the past, Judah sacrificed his brother. Now he protected his brother. In the past, he escaped responsibility. Now he was willing to carry responsibility.
Sometimes God brings us back to a similar situation, not to condemn us again, but to give us an opportunity to make a new choice.
A life changed by God no longer asks only, “Why me?” Instead, it is willing to say, “I will take responsibility.”
- To Be Changed by God Is to Enter the Fulfilment of His Promise
“And they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed down before him to the earth.”
— Genesis 43:26, NKJV
The dream Joseph received when he was young was finally beginning to come true.
He had been sold, falsely accused, imprisoned, and forgotten. From a human point of view, the dream seemed to have been destroyed. But in the hands of God, every painful experience became part of His preparation.
God fulfilled the dream not so that Joseph could show how great he was, and not so that his brothers could be humiliated. God raised Joseph up so that the whole family could be saved during the famine.
God prepares not only the situation, but also the people.
He prepared Joseph to carry authority. He prepared Judah to carry responsibility. He prepared Israel to let go and trust Him.
Sometimes a promise has not yet been fulfilled because God is still changing us. He is preparing us to carry what He has promised.
When God’s appointed time comes, we will understand that every season of delay, loss, and brokenness was still in His hands.
Conclusion:
Genesis 43 shows us that God was not only leading a family through famine. He was changing them through the crisis.
Israel moved from holding tightly to trusting God.
Judah moved from escaping responsibility to carrying responsibility.
Joseph moved from being sold and forgotten to seeing God’s promise fulfilled.
God does not only want to change what is happening around us. He also wants to change what is happening within us.
Perhaps today we are still waiting for an answer. Perhaps there is something we find very hard to release. Perhaps we are facing a situation where we once failed.
But God has not stopped working.
He is teaching us to let go. He is teaching us to carry responsibility. He is preparing us to enter what He has planned.
Those who are changed by God can carry what God has prepared.
Reflection:
What person or situation am I still holding tightly because of fear?
When responsibility comes, do I run away, or am I willing to carry it?
When I have not yet seen the promise fulfilled, do I still believe that God is changing and preparing me?
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, please change my life. When fear keeps me from letting go, help me to trust You. When responsibility comes, give me courage not to run away. Even when I have not yet seen Your promise fulfilled, help me believe that You have never stopped working. Continue to change me in Your hands, and prepare me to carry Your will. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.
Genesis 43
1 Now the famine was severe in the land. 2 And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.”
3 But Judah spoke to him, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 5 But if you will not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ ”
6 And Israel said, “Why did you deal so wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you had still another brother?”
7 But they said, “The man asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we told him according to these words. Could we possibly have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”
8 Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. 9 I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. 10 For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time.”
11 And their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and carry down a present for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 Take double money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. 13 Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man. 14 And may God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!”
15 So the men took that present and Benjamin, and they took double money in their hand, and arose and went down to Egypt; and they stood before Joseph. 16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my home, and slaughter an animal and make ready; for these men will dine with me at noon.” 17 Then the man did as Joseph ordered, and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house.
18 Now the men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, “It is because of the money, which was returned in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may make a case against us and seize us, to take us as slaves with our donkeys.”
19 When they drew near to the steward of Joseph’s house, they talked with him at the door of the house, 20 and said, “O sir, we indeed came down the first time to buy food; 21 but it happened, when we came to the encampment, that we opened our sacks, and there, each man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; so we have brought it back in our hand. 22 And we have brought down other money in our hands to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.”
23 But he said, “Peace be with you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.
24 So the man brought the men into Joseph’s house and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed. 25 Then they made the present ready for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they would eat bread there.
26 And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed down before him to the earth. 27 Then he asked them about their well-being, and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”
28 And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves.
29 Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your younger brother of whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” 30 Now his heart yearned for his brother; so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. And he went into his chamber and wept there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself, and said, “Serve the bread.”
32 So they set him a place by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat food with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. 33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth; and the men looked in astonishment at one another. 34 Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamin’s serving was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him.
Zion Bread of Life Christian Church 
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