So Lord, may you graciously help
me. I turn your prayerful attention to Genesis chapter 44, and reading
verses 32 and 33. It's Genesis 44, verses 32 and
33. These are the words that Judah spoke to the governor of the
land of Egypt. who he didn't realise was actually
his brother Joseph. For thy servant became surety
for the lad unto my father, saying, if I bring him not unto thee,
then I shall bear the blame to my father forever. Now therefore I pray thee, let
thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman. to my Lord
and let the land go up with his brethren. That's Genesis 32 and
33. In this account that we have
of the life of Joseph and his brethren and how the behaviour
of Judah at this point, we see something of a beautiful picture
of an aspect of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who became
a surety for his people. And we can see this in what Judah
became for Benjamin here, as we've read this together. Judah,
of course, was one of the 12 brothers, and it was going to
be from Judah that the Lord Jesus was going to spring, a lion from
the tribe of Judah. And yet, early on in Judah's
history, we don't read that much good of Judah. Indeed, it makes very sad reading. If you look in chapter 37, it
was Judah's idea to sell his brother Joseph into slavery. A very unkind thing to do, both
to his father and to his brother Joseph. We also have in chapter
38, we have an account of his immorality. So we have a dark
beginning to Judah, and yet, in God's mercy, we see that in
the intervening years between when we have in chapter 44 and
his earlier years, some 20 years have elapsed, just over 20 years,
and we see now a different, different Judah, one whom the Lord has
worked in, I believe, and made him a tender in the things of
God and changed his attitude towards his father and towards
his brethren. And so we have this account given
us. And we see then, as we read firstly
in Genesis 43, we have this problem at the beginning of Genesis 43.
They need corn in the land of Egypt. Sorry, they need corn
in the land of Canaan. Jacob and his family's there. And yet the brothers are unable
really to go to Egypt and get corn unless Benjamin goes with
them. And yet Benjamin, is not allowed
to go with them by Jacob. So this was the difficult situation
they were in. And this was going to be a serious
matter. They were going to die of starvation
in Canaan unless they could manage to go to Egypt and buy corn. And this is where this situation
of Judah starts coming out. in his precious colours and indeed
foreshadowing something of what the Lord Jesus would be, that
surety to his people. He, in love to his father and
in love to his brother, says this in verse 8 of chapter 43. And Judas said unto Israel, his
father, send the lad with me and we will arise and go and
that we may live and not die. You see, this was a matter of
life and death. This was not a case of, as it were, obtaining
the dainties of life. This was a matter of life and
death. Send the lad with me and we will
arise and go that we may live and not die, both we and thou
and also our little ones. I will be surety for him. of
my hand, shalt thou require him? If I bring him not unto thee,
and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever. So this word surety, it's not
a word we use very much, but it's like a guarantor. It's like
the proof that what they promised would come to pass. And indeed,
interestingly, in the book of the Proverbs, we have Solomon
gives warnings against being a shorty because of the seriousness
of what that meant. If you look in Proverbs chapter
6 it says this, my son if thou be shorty for thy friend If thou
hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, that means you've, as it were,
you've shaken hands on a deal, thou art snared with the words
of thy mouth. Thou art taken with the words
of thy mouth. Do this now, my son. Deliver
thyself. When thou art in the hand of
thy friend, go humble thyself and make sure thy friend. It's
saying, basically, don't be a shorty for somebody else, because when
they have a problem, you are responsible. And that can be
a very costly thing. And in Proverbs 22, it says the
same. Proverbs 22 and verse 26, it
says, be not thou one of them that strike hands, that means
shake hands, usually concluding an agreement, or of them that
are shorties for debts. If thou has nothing to pay, why
should he take away thy bed from under thee? So basically, if
you become shorty for somebody else, If they become in debt,
if they become in difficulties, the problem is your problem,
not theirs. And Solomon is saying, this is
a very serious thing to do. If you're not personally guilty
of something, why should your bed be taken away because somebody
else has defected? Well, here it gives a picture
of, therefore, the nature of what it is to be a surety. Well,
we have in a account that we've read in Genesis of Judah agreeing
to be a surety for Benjamin. And that meant that if Benjamin
got into trouble, if anything negative happened to Benjamin,
then the problem would be Judah's to sort out. It would be Judah
that would take the blame. And it's interesting the power
that Judah puts upon it in verse 9 of Genesis 43. I will be surety for him of my
hand, shalt thou require him. If I bring him not unto thee,
and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame forever. These are strong words. And you
see, we think, When we look at these things, we realise that
there's something here of what the Lord Jesus has done for his
people. You see, in Hebrews chapter 7,
Hebrews 7 verse 22, we have this, by so much was Jesus made a surety
of a better testament, a better covenant. You see, the first
covenant, that covenant of works, and all that earlier priesthood
of the killing of bulls and goats to make sacrifice. Well, the
Lord Jesus became a surety of a better testament, a better
covenant, one that would truly bring blessing. And you see,
so this is what the Lord Jesus is for his people. And we've
sung about that in some of our hymns even this day, about the
nature of Christ being a surety for his people. Well, let us
look then at this great theme that is in the Word of God, a
different aspect of what the Lord Jesus is to his people.
I will be shorty for him. And we notice, you see, that
when Judah made this promise to his father, really Benjamin
was not in trouble. There was no trouble with Benjamin
at the time. There was no problem with him
and nobody had got any problem with him or got himself into
trouble. The agreement that Judah would
be his surety happened when Benjamin was not in a problem. And we
see there that was true also, you see, of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ. He became surety. He took on
the suretyship of his people when as yet they were perfect. They had not sinned. And you
see, if you look in Ephesians chapter 1, it says this, Ephesians
1 verse 4, according as he has chosen us in him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
him in love. So we were chosen in him. Christ became the surety of his
people, when as yet they had not failed. They had not sinned.
They had not done any transgression. And you see, when you look at
this, I think really Judah was trying to just allay his father's
fears. I don't think Judah really thought
that Benjamin would get into trouble, but he was just giving
reassurance to his father that should he come into trouble,
that Judah would take the responsibility. And you see, it is like that.
If you're shorty for somebody doing a mortgage payment or something
like that, provided they keep on paying their mortgage and
you're the shorty for it, well, provided they keep paying all
the payments, then actually the shorty doesn't need to do anything
because they fulfilled their obligations themselves. And therefore,
you were just there to make sure that that did happen. But it
did happen, so it didn't cost you anything. And I think, I
don't know for sure, but I wonder whether Judah took on that responsibility
with Benjamin, thinking, well, I don't think it will necessarily
cost me anything, but I will do it to give reassurance to
my father. Well, if we think of the greater than Judah, the
one that sprung out of the loins of Judah, the Lord Jesus Christ,
when he took on the surety ship of his church, before they fell,
He knew that they were going to defect. He knew that they
were going to come into trouble. And yet, you see, he took it
on. Judah took it on, probably feeling that it wouldn't necessarily
cost him that much. But the Lord Jesus Christ took
it on, knowing that this church would defect. This church would
fall in Adam, and therefore need to be brought back through the
red seed of his own blood. So we see here a similarity and
a difference. Well, we have then, the Lord Jesus, you see, was
one that needed to do this for his people. So if we look then,
moving on in the account, we have this situation where They
go down into Egypt, they have a meal at Joseph's house. He
sends them away with their money in the tops of their sacks and
also the silver cup in Benjamin's sack. And Joseph organizes it
all. So Benjamin is put in that position
where the brothers of Benjamin could do exactly to Benjamin
what they had done to him some 22 or so years before. Leave
him alone and go back without any problems and all the problem
would rest on Benjamin. And Joseph was trying to see
whether these brothers had changed. Would they stand by Benjamin
or would they leave him? So we picked up the reading in
chapter 44 when it says, so they'd gone away and the servants
of Joseph had come and overtaken them, and spake unto them, saying
these words. And they said unto, wherefore
saith my Lord these things? Oh, that's right, because they
said, wherefore have you rewarded good for evil? They were accused,
you see, of something. And they say, God forbid that
thy servant should do this thing. They're very indignant. They
hadn't stolen the silver cup. They hadn't done anything like
that. And yet you see, some things in our lives, God brings into
our lives, to send us down memory lane. Actually, these brothers
hadn't stolen the silver cup. That was true. But actually,
they'd done something far worse. They'd sold their brother into
slavery. They'd covered his blood with
this kit of a goat and the coat of many colours had been dipped
in it. They had been a wicked man. But they weren't guilty
of this particular thing. But God, you see, is able to
bring things into our lives, to bring back, and to bring us
to realize. You see, it says, as you sow,
so shall you reap. And you see that they had sown
a wickedness and now they were reaping it and they were coming
back and they were coming to realise that there was a God
and that he knew what they had done. You see, and this is the
great thing that God is doing to his people is to bring them
to feel their need, to feel that they are guilty, to feel that
they need mercy. Well, when the cup is found in
Benjamin's sack, They all return back, they're very, very sad.
They rent their clothes, we read, in verse 13. And then in verse
14 of chapter 44, and Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's
house. It's interesting, this is the first time that Judah
is seen as like the leader. And of course, Judah was the
dominant tribe, and indeed, Judah became the one, I understand
we call them the Jews today, which is a contraction of the
word Judah. And they all became known as the Jews, rather than,
all the tribes then, as it were, became answerable to that name
of Jews. And Judah and his brethren came
to Joseph's house, for he was yet there. So they come back,
and Judah starts speaking, you see, on behalf. Judah starts
pleading. He's not Benjamin here, it's
Judah. You see here, there's something
of what this shorty does. What voice is that that speaks
for me? In heaven's high courts above,
it is Jesus' precious blood. You see, Judah started pleading
on behalf of Benjamin. And you see, this is a precious
nature of a surety, who undertakes. When things go wrong, he undertakes. So Joseph says, you know, what
have you done? And in verse 16, Judah said,
what shall we say unto my Lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall
we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity
of thy servants. Behold, we are, so he's confessing
the sin. They weren't guilty of this particular
thing, but I think he realized that they were guilty. You see
Romans 3 verse 19 says, that, let me just turn to it, but it
talks about how the Lord is bringing the whole world, as it were,
to realise their guilt before God. Romans 3 verse 19 says, now we
know that whatsoever things the law saith, it saith to them who
are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and that
all the world might become guilty before God. And you see, these
brothers, no, they hadn't been guilty of the silver cup, but
they'd actually been guilty of far worse. And you see, you may
be perhaps sometimes brought up for something you haven't
done, but the Lord knows that perhaps it's sending you down
memory lane about something you have done and that hasn't been
known as yet. And you see, all the world becomes
guilty before God. Judah then says, puts them all,
if you like, he takes the blame off just Benjamin, tries to spread
it across them. We are my Lord's servants, both
we and he also with whom the cup is found. But Joseph says,
no, God forbid that I should do this so, but the man in whose
hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant and as for you,
get you up in peace unto your father. So exactly the situation
that that Judah and his father most feared exactly had happened.
Benjamin was in trouble and all the rest could go home. Benjamin
was the one that was in trouble. And here we see how Judah steps
up in this time of need for Benjamin. He steps up and he stands, as
it were, as a surety for Benjamin. He doesn't say, you see, it would
have been so easy for Judah. to say, well, that means I can
go back home to my family. I can be at home. The problem
lies with Benjamin, and that's exactly what they'd done some
22 years or so before with their brother Joseph. They'd left him. They weren't worried about what
would happen to him or his father. But now you see there'd been
a change. This agreement that Judah had made was in love to
Benjamin. and in love to his father. And we think of that, that the
agreement, the covenant of grace, it was made in love to his people
and in love between the love of God, the father and God, the
son. It was a covenant of grace, a
covenant of love. And that covenant was the safety
of his people. And you see that covenant that
had been made between, that Judah had promised to be the surety.
Now this was going to come into effect. Now there was going to
be a testing. Would Judah stand firm on this
or would he defect? Would he leave Benjamin in this
time of greatest need? Well, he gives a tremendous plea
and explains the whole situation to Joseph. Of course, he doesn't
think Joseph knows anything about his father, really, or cares
much for his father. Of course, Joseph did know and
did care so deeply about what he was saying. And then in verse
30 of chapter 44, we read this. Now therefore, when I am come
to thy servant, my father, and the lad be not with us, seeing
that his life is bound up in the lad's life. There was a bond,
you see, between the father and Benjamin. And you see, we opened
our service this morning with singing that hymn, verse, hymn
405. Twixt Jesus and the chosen race,
subsist the bond of sovereign grace, that hell with its infernal
train, shall ne'er dissolve nor rend in train. That this sacred
bond shall never break, though earth shall to her centre shake. Rest out in saint, assured of
this, for God has pledged his holiness. There was a bond, you
see, of love between Jacob and Benjamin. This is something of
the pleading ground, a bond of union. Well, and then in verse
31 of chapter 44, it says, and it shall come to pass when he
seeth that the lad is not with us, he will die, and thy servant
shall bring down the gray hairs of my father with sorrow to the
grave. And then we come to what we've
named as a text. For thy servant became shorted. This is his pleading
ground. His pleading ground with Joseph
is the fact that there'd been a covenant made, there'd been
an agreement made between Judah and his father Jacob. There'd
been a covenant made. And because of that covenant,
therefore, he had made an agreement that he would definitely bring
back, he would do everything in his power to bring back Benjamin
in safety to his father. And then we have in verse 33,
now therefore I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of
the lad, a bondman to my Lord, and let the lad go up with his
brethren. So here we have beautiful substitution. Judah was willing,
to be a servant, a slave, in the land of Egypt for the rest
of his life, so that his brother Benjamin could go free, back
to his father, back to freedom, with no problem legally on his
head at all. And you see, he was prepared
to be that substitute. And of course, we see surely
something of a picture of the Lord, Jesus Christ, who became
a substitute for his people. when they were in trouble, when
they were in need, when they had fallen foul of the law. Well,
Benjamin, in one sense, hadn't done anything wrong here. It
had been falsely put against him that he were the silver cup.
But when we think of us, you see, the sentence is just, the
soul that sinneth, it shall die. The sentence against us is just.
And yet, how is it gonna be? How is it gonna be? Well, you
see, the covenant. Oh, the covenant. For thy servant
became shorty for the lad. Oh, there's a covenant made.
But you see, when we look at this, you see, there was a weakness
here in this covenant, wasn't there? That we've looked at here.
There was a weakness because the covenant was between Judah
and Jacob. And it was Joseph that it was
being pleaded to. And really, Judah was at Joseph's
mercy, whether he would allow him to execute this or not, he
was at his mercy. But you see here, a stronger
covenant with a covenant of grace. Because when God, the Son, pleads
with his Father, intercedes, it is a covenant that was between
him and his father as well. You see, he pleads on behalf
of them, but he had made that covenant with his father. And
therefore, there was a power in his pleading ground. In a
sense, with Judah, there was an uncertainty whether Joseph
would listen, whether he would accept this argument, this plea
or not. But we read, with authority,
he asks. You see, when we come to the
covenant of grace, when Christ has gained the victory, he has
stood surety for his people. There is an authority. You see,
he has gained that acceptance. He's pleading a promise. He's
giving that guarantee. that there would be wealth. So
as we look at this precious thing, this precious view of the surety
ship, it gives a guarantee. We have that today, don't we?
If you buy something and you're spending a lot of money on it
and you want to make sure that it's going to last the number
of years that you want it to, you want a guarantee that it's
not going to break in the next week. And if it does, you want
to be able to take it back. and get a replacement, you want
some guarantee. Well, Christ has become a guarantee,
you see, of salvation for his people. He's become the security,
that there is security. And you see, this is what is
picked up in Hebrews chapter seven. Hebrews seven, verse 21, it says,
for those priests were made without an oath. You see, the Levitical
priesthoods, each one just followed on from his father. He didn't
have an oath, as it were, to put into that office that he
would be forever, because he would only last for his lifetime,
and then it would be another one. For those priests were made
without an oath, but this with an oath. You see, there was an
agreement, there was a covenant that he would, represent his
people. Oath by him that said, the Lord
sweared and will not repent. Thou art a priest forever after
the order of Melchizedek. You see, there's an everlasting
nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Old Testament priests, they
came and they went as their life was taken from them by old age. They had to pass it on to their
next generation by so much was Jesus made a surety of a better
testament, a surety, the guarantee that there would be a security
for his people. And may we, as we gather then
around God's word this morning, may there be a comfort in this,
that in what Christ has done, that there is a surety, there
is a certainty, You see in verse 25 of Hebrew seven, it says,
wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost. Because he's the surety, because
he stood in their place, because he's agreed with the father that
he would purchase them, and he would settle all the debts that
they run up, all the misdemeanors, all the breaking of God's law.
He would put that to his account, you see, All of Benjamin's problem
transferred to Judah. It was Judah's problem. It was
Judah that had to be the servant now. Well, of course, as we know,
if you know the story, I'm sure you do, of Joseph and his brethren,
when you come to chapter 45, Joseph makes himself known to
his brethren, and Judah never does have to stay as a bondman
in Egypt. Joseph shows then that he had
a heart of love to his brethren. and he was going to give them
that forgiveness. And the surety ship actually
ended up not costing Judah that much, though he showed that he
was willing to do it. But when we come to the Lord
Jesus Christ, you see, there's so many pictures in the Old Testament,
just like it was with Abraham and Isaac. He was going to off-wrap
Isaac, but he didn't actually off-wrap Isaac because he was
stopped right at the last moment. but they were looking at a picture
of one who would be the surety, who would be the sacrifice, who,
when the sword of divine justice, as it were, hung over Christ,
there was no such voice that said from heaven, stop, I now
know that you're serious about obeying God's word. No, we read
that a Waco sword against my shepherd, against the man that
is my fellow, There was to be a performance,
you see, this surety, the Lord Jesus Christ was not just testing,
as it were, to see whether he was willing, and then when it
was proved that he was willing, then he didn't need to do it.
Like it was with Joseph, like, sorry, Judah, and like it was
with Isaac and Abraham. No, he needed to do it. He needed
to complete the work. The first, the Old Testament
were pictures, and the New Testament was a fulfillment of You see,
so he is able to save them unto the uttermost. Because he's paid
the price, because he stood in their place. You see, in John's
gospel we have those precious words, John six. John six, verse
37. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. and him that cometh to me, I
will in no wise cast out. There's a guarantee. There's
a surety ship here. This is what he has agreed. He's
made a covenant with the Father and all that were in him would
be safe. Oh, we have such precious words
in the word of God. In John 10, we have some more
precious words. It says, John 10 verse, 27, my
sheep hear my voice, I know them and they follow me, and I give
unto them eternal life. How do you do that? Because I'm
the surety. Because I plead their cause. Because I've stood in their place.
Because of the covenant of grace, ordained in all things and sure. A better covenant than the covenant
of works. A better priesthood than Aaron
and all his sons. because he has an unchanging
priesthood. He is secured for them eternal
Redemption. You see this is why it's so precious
precious to the people of God and I give unto them eternal
life and they shall never perish. How do you know how what's the
security the shorty? The shorty he stood he took their
place. There was an agreement made between
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, that there would
be this plan of salvation, and Christ then fulfilled that plan
of salvation, and now he pleads. Not, well, maybe he'll be accepted,
maybe he won't be, maybe Joseph will listen to him, maybe he
won't. No. But now with authority. Authority,
you see. authority on the covenant. The
covenant wasn't made between, in our example, wasn't made between
Judah and Joseph, it was made between Judah and Jacob. But
you see the covenant that Christ is pleading is made between the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It's a covenant between
the people who made it. It's a sure and certain, you
see, My sheep, hear my voice, I know
them, and I give them unto them eternal life, and they shall
never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hands. The security of the Lord's people
is a security that comes with knowing that our surety. You
see, there was a place of safety, it wasn't there for Benjamin.
When all the problems came across him, he didn't say a word. We
don't hear of Benjamin saying anything. It was Judah that pleaded
for him. It was Judah that stood in his
place. And so it is when the law comes
with all its condemnation. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die. You see, he stands and says, they're mine, I've paid for them.
You look in one, the epistle of John, one John and chapter
one and verse nine. Very well known text, 1 John
1 verse 9. If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. He's able, you see, we've got
the guarantee. We've got the security that this
is so because he has kept the covenant and he's risen again. He's satisfied the law, it is
finished. He stood in our place and therefore
there is therefore forgiveness with God that he may be feared.
And another aspect, you see, of what has been secured at that,
because of his being the surety of his people, we can look in
Matthew's gospel, chapter 11, and realize something of the
rest that remains to the people of God. Come unto me, this is
Matthew 11, verse 28, come unto me, all ye that labour and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Security, you see. How do you know? Well, it's because
the surety has stood in our place. The surety has been, as it were,
he's satisfied the law. He's stood in our place. He's
agreed with the Father that he would take all the problems that
they came into and make them his own. Come unto me, all ye that labour
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon
you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and
ye shall find rest unto your souls. Rest, there remaineth
a rest to the people of God. A rest, for my yoke is easy,
and my burden is light. Then if we, what is the conditions
then? if there is this surety ship,
if there is this blessing that flows from Jesus as being the
surety. Well, in Hebrews 7 that we've
looked at already, but Hebrews 7 verse 25, we quoted this verse
already, but, wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him. That's what we need to do. come unto God by him. We are
to come to this one. We're to come to this Lord Jesus. We're to come to God through
the Lord Jesus Christ, through his finished work. This is our
only way to God. This is the only mediator between
God and man, the man Christ Jesus. This is our only hope. Otherwise,
we're like Benjamin. and the handwriting's
written against us and we have to stand and take the penalty
ourselves. But if there's a surety, if there's
one that's agreed to take all our problems, wherefore he's
able to save them to the uttermost, the extent of it, the uttermost,
the uttermost sinners. And as we go on in our lives
and have fresh contracted sin, we have another definition of
the uttermost. is able to save to the uttermost,
that he is also to save them to the uttermost, that come unto
God by him. Living faith, having faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is the way, this is
the security, this is what is so vital, that we maybe have
that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that hand of faith that
lays hold on the hope set before us in the gospel, come unto me
all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. There's security in this for
God's people. There's a place of safety. We're
to flee to that surety who is able to save unto the uttermost
all that come unto God by him. Well, in our text it says, for
thy servant became surety for the land unto my father. saying,
if I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to
my father forever. These are strong words. And can
we think of the Lord Jesus Christ? If he does not bring his church
safe to glory and present them before the father without fault
and without blemish, If he doesn't do that, and if they're not brought, then
I shall bear the blame to my father forever. You see, it's
an incredible power, isn't it? His honour, one of the hymn writers
picks it up, his honour and his name's at stake to save me from
the burning lake. Because he's been short of his
people, then those who have, fled for refuge to lay hold upon
that hope set before them in the gospel, that there is security
for them. He has said, I will never leave
thee nor forsake thee. Then I shall bear the blame to
my father forever. Well, he took all that was against
them in their sin. If we just close in Revelation
in chapter five, we see, you see the two sides of the Lord
Jesus, the lion of the tribe of Judah, Two sides. He is that lion. He is able to,
he was able to stand against all those troubles. Judah had
to be strong and plead, you see, and be willing to stand in the
place. But we see also the Lamb of God,
the one who became a substitute, the one who had that love to
his people. Yes, he was firm and strong against
his enemies, but he was one that was loving. And we read in verse
nine of Revelation 5, and they sung a new song, saying, thou
art worthy to take the book, to open the seals thereof, for
thou was slain, has redeemed us to God, by thy blood, out
of every kindred and tongue and people and nation, and has made
us unto our God, kings and priests. The surety has presented them
complete in him. Oh, the blessed work of a surety.
The Lord Jesus Christ is a surety of his people. He's the guarantee
that as he has fought the fight, the battle won, that so they
must be victorious in heaven.