Genesis 43

Recap of 42

The famine is impacting the family whom God has chosen to bless the world through, Jacob and his sons are feeling it’s effects and once Jacob heres that there is grain for sale in Egypt, thanks to Joseph and his interpreting Pharoahs dreams and storing up the food during the seven years of plenty, he tells his sons to stop standing around and looking at one another and go and buy some grain so they will live and not die.

But we learned that there was one notable exception to this, that Jacob was still clinging tightly to his last remaining son from Rachel in Benjamin, so he would not send him along.

When they got to Egypt Joseph recognized them as his brothers, and he treats them harshly, calling them spies and he imprisons Simeon, and tells them not to return unless they can bring their youngest brother as proof of what they say is true.

Yet for all his harshness towards them in words, he is kind to them in deed, as he allows them to buy grain and to return home with it, and even instructs his servants to put the money that his brothers had paid back into their travel bags.

Of course the brothers and Jacob do not see this as a blessing, but because they have been carrying around with them a guilty conscience for many years about what they did to Joseph, they are unable to see it as a blessing and instead assume that this is the judgement of God upon them for their evil that they had been waiting on a reckoning for.

And the chapter closes with the brothers telling Jacob about the man in Egypt, about his harsh statements and his imprisonment of Simeon and his demands not to return without Benjamin, and we see Jacobs remaining stubbornness and favoritism when he rejects Reuben’s offer to take Benjamin and to bring him back, which Reuben backed up with the life of his two sons by the way, which is both noble I suppose and sickening at the same time.

But Jacob states flatly that Benjamin is not going anywhere, and he essentially writes Simeon off as dead the same as Joseph, which again shows you the favoritism he had for his sons from Rachel.

And the chapter wrapped up with Jacob stating that Benjamin will not go because if anything should happen to him, Jacob believes he would die from the sorrow.

But as we are going to see in chapter 43, hunger is a powerful motivator!

1-10 Out of Time, Out of Choices

Genesis 43:1–10 ESV

1 Now the famine was severe in the land. 2 And when they had eaten the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little food.” 3 But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you will 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 Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man that you had another brother?” 7 They replied, “The man questioned us carefully about ourselves and our kindred, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ What we told him was in answer to these questions. Could we in any way know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” 8 And Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy 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 will be a pledge of his safety. 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 If we had not delayed, we would now have returned twice.”

Gen 43:

So while their first trip and the bit of grain they bought from Egypt offered some temporary relief from the effects of the famine, that grain was quickly consumed and the famine remained.

And it appears, though it isn’t directly stated, that the conversation between the sons and Jacob about returning to Egypt with Benjamin both to retrieve more grain and to retrieve Simeon had been an ongoing discussion that Jacob continued to resist.

Perhaps that is the reasoning for his request in v. 2 to go to buy “a little food” Maybe he was hoping that if they kept their amount small enough that they wouldn’t have to encounter the Egyptian again, or maybe they could buy it off someone else.

But Judah understands that this is impossible and tells him once again, we cannot go back there without Benjamin.

And in response they have an argument don’t they?

Jacob who is now referred to once again as Israel in v. 6 says, “Why did you tell the man you had another brother?”

And the brothers it appears since it says they in v. 7 reply “He asked us a ton of questions regarding our family and we answered him truthfully, How could we have known he would make such a request?”

And it is here that we begin to see Judah taking charge of the situation and pledging for the safety of Benjamin, not on the lives of his children the way Reuben had, but instead taking it upon his own life.

And it’s this statement in v. 10 that makes me thing this was an ongoing discussion, Judah says, if we had not delayed, if you would have allowed us to take Benjamin we could have been there and returned twice by now.

And I think this is why we see Jacob once again being referred to as Israel in v. 6.

Remember when he was frightened at the prospect of being confronted by Esau back in chapter 32 and in that moment he wrestled with God and came up lame with a limp and how impossible the situation looked then?

Esau was coming with 400 men and here Jacob was with a limp, with no where to run, and expecting to run into the wrath of Esau, and in this moment God gave him the name “Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

I think v. 6 is once again showing us that Jacob is out of time, and out of choices.

If he doesn’t send Benjamin, then not only Benjamin, but everyone will die.

The chosen family, whom Jacob is responsible for making choices for, has only one choice left, and in Jacob’s eyes it might cost him everything.

So he relents at last...

v. 11-14

Genesis 43:11–14 ESV

11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry a present down to the man, a little balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. 12 Take double the money with you. Carry back with you the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight. 13 Take also your brother, and arise, go again to the man. 14 May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, and may he send back your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”

Gen 43:

And in much the same way he handled the situation with Esau, he does the best he can to make the situation turn out for the best.

And in much the same way he handled the situation with Esau

He sends goods that the Egyptians would have found a delicacy, he tells them to take back the money they took the first time, and to double the payment for this second purchase.

But at long last we see that Israel puts aside his own affections for Benjamin, and he puts his faith in God.

El Shaddai - the name for God that has a rich history from the patriarch family.

This is the name that God referred to himself by when He came to Abram back in when he told him that he would be the father of a multitude of nations.

This is the name that Isaac invoked when he sent Jacob to away and blessed him that he might receive the blessing of Abraham in 8.

Genesis 35:9–12 ESV

9 God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. 10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. 11 And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. 12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.”

I believe what we see here from Israel, is him giving up on his own wants and desires and trusting in God to fulfill that which God had promised to him there in Bethel.

He’s saying essentially, I don’t know how things are going to turn out, but I know that from at least one of these boys God Almighty is going to keep his promise. It may be the case that I lose my children.

But if it must be so, it must be so.

I think ultimately what we are seeing here is Israel once again being force to trust in God.

v. 15-25

Genesis 43:15–25 ESV

15 So the men took this present, and they took double the money with them, and Benjamin. They arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph. 16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make ready, for the men are to dine with me at noon.” 17 The man did as Joseph told him and brought the men to Joseph’s house. 18 And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph’s house, and they said, “It is because of the money, which was replaced in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may assault us and fall upon us to make us servants and seize our donkeys.” 19 So they went up to the steward of Joseph’s house and spoke with him at the door of the house, 20 and said, “Oh, my lord, we came down the first time to buy food. 21 And when we came to the lodging place we opened our sacks, and there was each man’s money in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight. So we have brought it again with us, 22 and we have brought other money down with us to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.” 23 He replied, “Peace to you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks for you. I received your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them. 24 And when the man had brought the men into Joseph’s house and given them water, and they had washed their feet, and when he had given their donkeys fodder, 25 they prepared the present for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they should eat bread there.

They are frightened, why else would they be brought away from the common marketplace and brought to the home of Joseph if it wasn’t to become the man’s slaves?

So they try to smooth it over

v. 23, I recieved your money

But even though they are afraid, Joseph is being a gracious host, he provides them water to wash with, and provides for their donkeys, and are informed that Jospeh will be there at noon to eat.

v. 26-34

Genesis 43:26–34 ESV

26 When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present that they had with them and bowed down to him to the ground. 27 And he inquired about their welfare and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” 28 They said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves. 29 And he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me? God be gracious to you, my son!” 30 Then Joseph hurried out, for his compassion grew warm for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. And he entered his chamber and wept there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out. And controlling himself he said, “Serve the food.” 32 They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat 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 at one another in amazement. 34 Portions were taken to them from Joseph’s table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. And they drank and were merry with him.

Gen 43:26-

Finally, with all of Joseph’s brothers there before him, we see a fulfillment of the dream that Joseph had back in .

He inquires of the well being of Jacob, and when he sees Benjamin, his brother from his own mother, he cannot contain his compassion and he has to hurry out and weeps.

But he gathers himself together, washes his face, and has the food served.

Now the scene described here in v. 32 is interesting, and I’m not sure how it actually looked. But it seems as though they all sat at different tables, or in different spots.

You would have Joseph eating by himself as the second in command in Egypt, then you would have the Egyptians perhaps off to one side, and then the brothers there and according to v. 33, Joseph had them arranged in the order by which they should have been in according to birth order.

Now this blows the minds of JOseph’s brothers, both that they are in this place, enjoying this meal, and also how this man has placed them in the correct birth order when he couldn’t possibly have known that.

And the chapter ends with Joseph being overly generous to his brothers, but especially to Benjamin, and they drank and were satisfied, or merry with him.

Application

What are you holding on to that is preventing you from carrying out the will of God?

There is always something right?

A job, a relationship, finances, whatever it might be, Satan can turn just about anything into stumbling blocks between us and God can he not?

James 4:1–4 ESV

1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

If there are things keeping us from living our lives the way that we know we should for God, we have to learn to do what Jacob does here in this chapter.

James 4:4 ESV

4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Let them go.

We have to be less interested in providing comfort for ourselves and more interested in being a servant in God’s kingdom.

That might mean that a certain relationship has to end.

That might mean that you take another Job for less money and less benefits.

Not an application, but I have to mention how this chapter sets the scene for Judah to become a type of Christ.

In the next chapter we will see how Judah is ready to give himself as he states here on Benjamins behalf in fulfilling the promise that he made to his father in v. 9

I will be a pledge of his safety.