When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s
house, he was still there. They fell before him to the ground. Joseph said to
them, “What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me
can indeed practice divination?” And Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord?
What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt
of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we and he also in
whose hand the cup has been found.” But he said, “Far be it from me that I
should do so! Only the man in whose hand the cup was found shall be my servant.
But as for you, go up in peace to your father.” (Genesis 44:14–17 ESV).
Guilt can be priceless. This may sound strange; however, it is the call to repentance. St. Ambrose of Milan, one of the early Church Fathers wrote:
“But nothing causes such exceeding grief as when anyone,
lying under the captivity of sin, calls to mind from where he has fallen,
because he turned aside to carnal and earthly things, instead of directing his
mind in the beautiful ways of the knowledge of God. So you find Adam concealing
himself, when he knew that God was present and wishing to be hidden when called
by God with that voice which wounded the soul of him yourself? Why are you
concealed? Why do you avoid Him Whom you once longed to see? A guilty
conscience is so burdensome that it punishes itself without a judge, and wishes
for covering, and yet is bare before God.”
When we have exhausted our efforts of
evasion, denial, suppression, blaming, minimizing, rationalizing, and justifying,
all to avoid facing up to our sin we are left with repentance. When all the
devices of our crafty hearts are used up or cast aside, the horrible reality of
our own guilt meets us head-on. It is that moment we come face-to-face with our
greatest need. At that eye-opening moment we face the stark, liberating truth.
As an old spiritual song says, “It’s … not my father, not my mother … not my
brother, not my sister … not the elder … not the preacher … but it’s me, O
Lord, standing in the need of prayer.” Over the years we build up a thick wall
of immunity to facing our guilt; this is why redemption comes hard.
With great wisdom and love, Joseph
confronts his brothers: “What is this you have done?” And Judah, knowing they
have no other options, asks plaintively, “What can we say to my lord? … God has
uncovered [our] guilt.” With cleared vision, they finally see God’s hand upon
them. With their guilt exposed and bowing low, the brothers surrender. This is
the moment true deliverance and restoration begins. Have you reached that
moment yet? Now is the time!







