Genesis 42-44
Notes
Transcript
Background
We are now in the last section of Genesis, picking up where we left off. Genesis is about the beginning of all things, and we’ve covered a lot of ground in the history of the ancient world. We observed the beginning of man, man’s fall into sin, and God’s destruction of the world through a global flood. We saw God interact with a man named Abraham, whom He made a covenant with, that He would make Abraham and his descendants into a great nation. We looked at snapshots of the lives of his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob.
As a reminder, Jacob, renamed Israel by God, had 12 sons. Joseph, his favored son, was sold into slavery by his older brothers and presumed dead by his father. But God had plans for Joseph’s life, and we saw God bless Joseph and elevate him from slavery to a position of power within the government of Egypt. Joseph foretold a 7-year famine, and caused Egypt to prepare and prosper in the midst of the famine. That is where chapter 42 picks up.
We’re going to do things a bit differently, as there is a lot of repetition in these final chapters. We’re going to focus on the main points of the story, rather than go through every verse as we usually do.
1 Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?”
2 He said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy some for us from that place, so that we may live and not die.”
3 Then ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain from Egypt.
4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “I am afraid that harm may befall him.”
5 So the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who were coming, for the famine was in the land of Canaan also.
6 Now Joseph was the ruler over the land; he was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.
7 When Joseph saw his brothers he recognized them, but he disguised himself to them and spoke to them harshly. And he said to them, “Where have you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”
This sets up the climax of the story, the reunion and interaction between Joseph and his brothers.
MAP
MAP
God used the famine to force Jacob to look for food outside of his own wealth and prosperity, and he sent his 10 older sons to Egypt. They would pack for the journey and not go empty-handed, but they would also bring unburdened pack animals to transport large amounts of food back home.
Notice that Jacob was afraid of losing Benjamin. This is because Joseph and Benjamin had the same mother, Rachel, who was Jacob’s favorite. Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son, and after losing him Benjamin took his place as favorite.
Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.
This shouldn’t be surprising, as 13 years had passed, and Joseph was shaved and dressed like an Egyptian. He was just a boy when they last saw him.
TIMELINE
TIMELINE
Joseph proceeds to berate and accuse his brothers of being spies, which was not entirely impossible during that time.
In ancient times, many city-states would send spies to find weak spots in the defenses of their neighbors so that they may raid them.
Particularly in these difficult times, Egypt would have many greedy eyes seeking access to their food stores.
His brothers deny it, and explain that their youngest brother is home with their father. This gives Joseph an idea.
17 So he put them all together in prison for three days.
18 Now Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God:
19 if you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in your prison; but as for the rest of you, go, carry grain for the famine of your households,
20 and bring your youngest brother to me, so your words may be verified, and you will not die.” And they did so.
The brothers then talk amongst themselves, and recall their enslavement of Joseph. They believe what is happening to them is because of their actions.
Reuben even tells his brothers that he told them not to harm Joseph (even though he was selfish in his motives).
18 When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they plotted against him to put him to death.
19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer!
20 “Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, ‘A wild beast devoured him.’ Then let us see what will become of his dreams!”
21 But Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands and said, “Let us not take his life.”
22 Reuben further said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father.
23 So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the varicolored tunic that was on him;
24 and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.
Joseph understood what they were saying, and was overcome with grief. But he then put his plan into action.
He bound Simeon and put him in prison, and released the rest.
He also allowed them to purchase grain, but instead of letting them pay, he returned their money to their bags.
27 As one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his money; and behold, it was in the mouth of his sack.
28 Then he said to his brothers, “My money has been returned, and behold, it is even in my sack.” And their hearts sank, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”
29 When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them, saying,
36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and you would take Benjamin; all these things are against me.”
37 Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my care, and I will return him to you.”
But Jacob refused to let them go. Recall that Reuben, though he was firstborn, had harmed his relationship with his father and was not trusted.
2 So it came about when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.”
3 Judah spoke to him, however, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, ‘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.
Jacob (now called Israel) protested, but Judah insisted, and put himself on the line for Benjamin.
An interesting note is that Joseph had questioned them specifically, but they did not realize it was him.
Time wise, it took them twice the time for a round-trip journey to go through the food. Simeon stayed imprisoned the entire time.
Israel insisted that they take their own produce to give to Joseph as payment, and took double the amount of money.
He said a prayer of blessing over the trip, but he also resigned himself to losing his sons.
15 So the men took this present, and they took double the money in their hand, and Benjamin; then they arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his house steward, “Bring the men into the house, and slay an animal and make ready; for the men are to dine with me at noon.”
The brothers are brought to Joseph’s house and they attempted to explain how they had brought their money to pay.
23 He said, “Be at ease, 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.
Joseph then came home and interacted with his brothers, asking about Israel and meeting Benjamin. This encounter made him emotional once again.
They shared a meal together, though they didn’t sit together.
The brothers were seated according to age, and this amazed them.
34 He took portions to them from his own table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. So they feasted and drank freely with him.
1 Then he commanded his house steward, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack.
2 “Put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his money for the grain.” And he did as Joseph had told him.
3 As soon as it was light, the men were sent away, they with their donkeys.
4 They had just gone out of the city, and were not far off, when Joseph said to his house steward, “Up, follow the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good?
5 ‘Is not this the one from which my lord drinks and which he indeed uses for divination? You have done wrong in doing this.’ ”
6 So he overtook them and spoke these words to them.
The brothers denied this, and even said whoever is found with the cup would die, not knowing Benjamin had it. The search was made, and the cup was found.
13 Then they tore their clothes, and when each man loaded his donkey, they returned to the city.
14 When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there, and they fell to the ground before him.
15 Joseph said to them, “What is this deed that you have done? Do you not know that such a man as I can indeed practice divination?”
16 So Judah said, “What can we say to my lord? What can we speak? And how can we justify ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s slaves, both we and the one in whose possession the cup has been found.”
17 But he said, “Far be it from me to do this. The man in whose possession the cup has been found, he shall be my slave; but as for you, go up in peace to your father.”
Judah proceeds to explain the situation to Joseph.
33 “Now, therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers.
34 “For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me—for fear that I see the evil that would overtake my father?”
Judah is now exhibiting sacrificial repentance for their sins against Joseph, and offers himself as substitution for Benjamin for the sake of their father.
7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
16 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
Self-sacrificial love imitates the love God has for us.
Self-sacrificial love imitates the love God has for us.
We will see Joseph’s reaction to Judah’s pleas next week.
APPLICATION
APPLICATION
Self-sacrificial love imitates the love God has for us.
Next week, we will continue through the book of Genesis.
Communion: We practice open communion, which means if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you may join the church in taking the Lord’s Supper. Communion is a practice of remembering what Christ has done by eating and drinking, and we are told that we must examine ourselves in the taking of communion, so that we do not eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner. Take this time to examine yourself before we take communion together.
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;
24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.