Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Does Time Heal All Wounds? | Torah | Genesis 42

Episode Date: April 13, 2022

Are you in conflict with someone? Where do you have relational strife or open wounds? How should Christians deal with conflict? In today's episode, Jensen shares what Christians can learn from Joseph in Genesis 42 about seeking reconciliation and unity in broken relationships. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Passages: Genesis 42 Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now.

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jensen Holt McNair. Right now, we're going through the first book of the Bible, Genesis. Imagine with me for a moment that you've just experienced incredible relational hurt. You felt betrayed by a friend, or maybe a family member has made cutting remarks at you. Maybe you've been the one to harm another and you feel the sting of guilt and regret. And in that time, you have a vulnerable conversation with a friend. And as you're talking to them about the turmoil that you're experiencing, they offer up the encouragement that, well, time will heal all wounds.

It sounds good, doesn't it? If I just keep my head down, if I can just keep living my life and moving forward, eventually this won't hurt. Eventually, I'll forget. Eventually, I won't remember that this ever happened. It sounds good because it feels like an easy fix. It doesn't ask much of me. I don't have to face what happened. I don't have to face my own sin or the sin of others. I don't have to address the brokenness. I can just keep my head down and eventually healing will come. The problem, though, is that time can't heal all wounds. While some people think that this phrase has its roots in the Proverbs, it's not found anywhere in Scripture. It's not biblical because it's not true. Time alone does not have the power. to heal anything. Distance can't take away guilt and hurt and grief and tension. Pretending like

pain doesn't exist doesn't make it go away. As we continue in Joseph's story, we're confronted with a family who was bought into this lie. Genesis 42 picks up with Joseph's father. Jacob is sending his remaining sons down to Egypt to buy grain in the midst of a terrible famine. And yet we see that Jacob doesn't send all of his sons. Verse four. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might happen to him. So while time has passed, Jacob is still fearful. He's still unsure if he can trust his sons with the safety of Benjamin. Whether Jacob suspects that his sons had anything to do with Joseph's believed death, or he just blames them for not protecting him, it's clear

that Joseph's disappearance and believed death has caused divide and distrust in this family. family. A lack of reconciliation has left deep wounds between this father and his sons, and as we continue, we find that these wounds live on in the hearts of his sons as well. Following their father's instruction, the brothers head down to Egypt to unknowingly buy grain from their brother Joseph. And when they arrive, they don't recognize Joseph, which might seem a little odd to us, but it has been 20 years. Joseph's no longer a 17-year-old boy, but he's the governor of the land. and he's going to be dressed in fine robes. He's speaking Egyptian. And so as they bow down to the Egyptian governor before them, they have no idea that they are fulfilling the dreams of Joseph that he had years ago.

But Joseph does, and he does something about it. Picking up in verse 9. Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, you are spies. You've come to see where our land is unprotected. No, my Lord, they answered. Your servants have come to buy food. were all the sons of one man your servants are honest men not spies no he said to them you have come to see where our land is unprotected but they replied your servants were twelve brothers the sons of one man who lives in the land of canaan the youngest is now with our father and one is no more joseph said to them it is just as i told you you are spies and this is how you will be tested as surely as pharaoh lives you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of your number to go get your brother. The rest of you will be kept in prison

so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies. And he put them all in custody for three days. On the third day, Joseph said to them, do this and you will live for I fear God. If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. But you must bring your youngest brother to me so that your words may be verified and that you may not die. This they proceeded to do. So rather than reveal himself, Joseph chooses to test his brothers. For obvious reasons, he doesn't trust them. And in this process, we see the deep wounds that his brothers are holding. Continuing on in verse 21, they said to one another, surely we are being punished

because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen. That's why this distress has come on us. Rubin replied, didn't I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn't listen. Now we must give an accounting for his blood. They did not realize that Joseph could understand them since he was using an interpreter. He turned away from them and began to weep, but then came back and spoke to them again. You can hear the anguish in these men's voices, the guilt, the regret. And in turn, we see the hurt that Joseph understandably feels as he weeps at the words of his brothers. It has been 20 years, and time has not done its job.

And Joseph does what he says. He keeps Simeon captive and sends the other brothers home. to their father with the command to return with Benjamin to save his life. But when they get home to Jacob, Jacob refuses to go along with Joseph's commands. Verse 36. Their father Jacob said to them, you have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more. Simeon is no more. And now you want to take Benjamin? Everything is against me. Then Rubin said to his father, you may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. And trust him to my care and I will bring him back.

But Jacob said, my son will not go down there with you. His brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow. Another brother is lost. And did you hear where the blame lies for Jacob? He points the finger at his older sons. You have deprived me of my children.

Jacob has lost two sons and he refuses to lose a third. In verse 38, he refers to Benjamin as his only son left. Benjamin and Joseph were the only sons that his favorite wife Rachel had born him. And here we see him confirming his favoritism and revealing deep wounds in this family as he verbally disregards the rest of his sons. This is a broken family. The sins of their past, a father's favoritism, brother's hatred and betrayal, have bred deep wounds over the past 20 years.

And in the middle of this story, we're left with no happy ending. No reconciliation. Just a clear picture of a family stuck in the pain of the past. It's a sad, sad picture. But sitting in the middle of this story can help us feel the heartache and understand the dysfunction that can come from unheeled wounds. One question we have to ask is, if time doesn't heal all wounds, what does? Well, first, we have to know that there is incredible complexity here in every specific

instance of sin and brokenness. When we're talking about relational hurt and sins committed against others, we know that the road will not be easy. In every circumstance will come with its own individual needs to healing. I know that in my life, counseling has been incredibly beneficial to help me walk through and face the pain in my life in really specific ways. And while it hasn't been easy and I haven't always wanted to face my own brokenness and hurt, whether that's through formal counseling or not, I know I can't ignore it because again and again in scripture I see the command to find and seek reconciliation. The body of Christ is called to live in unity with one another. We're called to be kind and compassionate, to forgive one another. We're called

to bear one another's burdens. We're called to confess our sins to one another and to bring our grievances before those who have hurt us. We're not created to live in discord, but to live in a flourishing, healthy community. And that cannot exist in a world where we hide our sin, cover our brokenness with lies, and let the hurt of the past create divide in our relationships. Where are you like Joseph's family? Are there relationships in your life that are filled with this kind of discord? Has the burying of relational strife bred mistrust, distance, and resentment? In those places, where do you need to seek unity?

Is there a conversation that you need to have to bring light to dark places, to bring healing? Now, I do want to say that while we are, are called to seek unity and reconciliation, we also have to live with the knowledge that we're stuck in the middle of the story. We still live in a broken world. Relationships will have real, deep, hurt. And because of this, there's going to be instances where reconciliation isn't possible. Maybe because of a death or because the other person doesn't want the same thing. We have to remember that this world is not fully redeemed yet. Jesus is still coming to back to fully restore creation. And so in the middle of that tension, we have to lift our eyes to

and put our hope in Jesus, our perfect healer. First Peter 2.24 says, He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds, you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls. We have a perfect shepherd who is watching over our souls. We have a shepherd who died and took on our wounds so that we could find healing. When we face our own brokenness and pain, that is exactly when we need to lean into Jesus. Allow his love and sacrifice to be a balm to the wounded places of your soul. Jesus sees your hurt. He sees the broken relationships in your life. He sees where you have failed. He sees where you struggle to trust the people around you. And he wants you to return home,

to find healing and to live your life inside of his care. So today, as you go forward, maybe there's a deep hurt you're caring with you. Maybe there's a past sin that you've committed against someone that you just haven't acknowledged. Whatever is weighing on your heart today, lay it at the feet of Jesus. Pour your heart out to the one who died so that your soul could find its ultimate healing in him. Before you forget, sign up for the 10-minute Bible Talks newsletter. Hit the link in the show notes and you'll get an email every Wednesday that will help

encourage you in the middle of the work week and bring you deeper in your walk with Jesus. Thanks for listening.