Mercy in Egypt
Notes
Transcript
Mercy in Egypt
Genesis 43:1-34
One philosopher draws this distinction between the sins of covetousness and envy:
Envy is a nastier sin than mere covetousness. What an envier wants is not, first of all, what another has; what an envier wants is for another not to have it.… To envy is to resent somebody else’s good so much that one is tempted to destroy it.
The coveter has empty hands and wants to fill them with somebody else’s goods. The envier has empty hands, and therefore wants to empty the hands of the envied.
Envy, moreover, carries overtones of personal resentment: an envier resents not only somebody else’s blessing but also the one who has been blessed.
Envy was what drove Joseph’s brothers to their murderous actions. They cared nothing about owning Joseph’s beautiful coat. They tore it in pieces. What the brothers resented was Joseph’s having the coat. And they resented his person even more than his possession of it. That was why they stripped him naked and beat him and tossed him in a pit to die.
Envy’s wreckage litters the biblical landscape: from Cain who envied Abel to Saul who envied David and, indeed, the landscape of our own existence as well.
There are the public shames like the 1989 Iowa high school love triangle in which Miss Harvest Queen strangled Miss Homecoming with her leather belt for stealing her boyfriend.
And there are also the hidden envies of the church as are sometimes seen in the halls of denominational conventions, of which an observer wrote, “Most of the conversation in the hotel rooms and the halls was characterized either by envy of those who were doing well or scarcely concealed delight for those who were doing poorly.”
Envy is a particularly degenerating sin.
And here in Egypt, where the covenant community would be gathered for preservation and the genesis of a great nation, it was essential that this deadly sin be eradicated.
So, Joseph had some very personal questions that needed answering.
· Were his brothers the same envious bunch that they were years earlier?
· If the conditions were “right,” would they again descend to the same murderous depths?
· How did they regard Benjamin, who now occupied the place of favor?
· Would they sacrifice him if it were to their benefit?
All this Joseph determined to find out when his brothers returned with Benjamin, as he was confident they would.
Driven to Egypt
Driven to Egypt
The worldwide famine was just as severe in Canaan as it was in Egypt. So, in a short time the provisions that the brothers had carried back from Egypt were nearly gone. Apparently, there was just enough grain left for their families to survive while the brothers made the trip. So, father Israel initiated the forbidden subject (the subject he would not hear of!) with a minimizing, face-saving suggestion:
Now the famine was severe in the land.
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.”
It was if it were a trip to the corner store. Of course, his boys rose to the subject, asserting that another trip to Egypt was useless unless they took Benjamin with them.
But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’
If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food.
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.’ ”
Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man that you had another brother?”
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’?”
It was then that Judah, who had already spoken, took charge.
In fact, from here on Judah, the number four brother, remained in ascendancy because number one son Reuben had diminished himself by incest and sons two and three, Simeon and Levi, had likewise disqualified themselves by their blood-lust.
Judah’s leadership was firm, thought through, and straight to the point.
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.
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.
If we had not delayed, we would now have returned twice.”
Judah stood tall. He would be the boy’s pledge. And if he failed, he would assume lasting, personal guilt forever. But now there was no time to dally.
Swayed by Judah’s appeal, Jacob once again became his directive old self, giving explicit orders about a gift, money, and his son.
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.
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.
Take also your brother, and arise, go again to the man.
There was irony here. The gift was of the same produce that the original caravan bore that first took Joseph to Egypt, including the silver! Life was coming full circle.
At last, with every provision made, Israel offered a heartening prayer.
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.”
The opening phrase, “May God Almighty grant you mercy” is not automatic response, because mercy is the narrative key of this entire episode. In fact, the events that would take place on the day of the brothers’ arrival in Egypt were a demonstration of God’s mercy.
Near the conclusion of this section when Joseph sees Benjamin, we read, “Then Joseph hurried out, for his compassion [or mercy] grew warm.” It’s the exact Hebrew word that is translated “mercy” in verse 14.
So, we see that mercy frames the account from beginning to end.
Along with this, Israel’s prayer invoked mercy in the name of “God Almighty” (El Shaddai), because the special designation El Shaddaiin Genesis is associated with blessing and promises and a revelation of himself.
So, we must understand that “May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man” is not a mere phrase. With this benediction Jacob gave his sons something to take with them that would prepare them for the terrifying encounter that lay ahead.
We must remember that for the devout Hebrew, God is the most real of all realities. The sons were charged to go down to Egypt with the expectation that God Almighty would show them mercy.
The old man’s closing words “And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved” show a sense of deep resignation. Old Jacob reconciled himself to the will of God.
A Feast for the Brothers in Egypt
A Feast for the Brothers in Egypt
There’s no record of how long the journey took the brothers to complete. We do understand that when they arrived and “stood before Joseph,” this description apparently refers to their standing before Joseph’s representatives, because there was no verbal exchange between the brothers and Joseph.
At the same time, we are told that Joseph saw that Benjamin was with them but did all his communicating through his steward. And further, we see that what he communicated left the brothers shocked and terrified, because he invited them to his house to dine with him.
With thousands of foreigners seeking sustenance, why would the viceroy single them out for special attention except that he had some evil in mind? It was common knowledge that ranking Egyptian officials maintained private dungeons in their homes.
The brothers were sweating! Consequently, their nervous wordy explanations:
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.”
So they went up to the steward of Joseph’s house and spoke with him at the door of the house,
and said, “Oh, my lord, we came down the first time to buy food.
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,
and we have brought other money down with us to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.”
Their father’s benediction, “May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man” was the right prayer, though it appears that none of them remembered it. Joseph’s brothers expected only the worst. And as their fears mounted, out of the blue came a second shock.
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.
He said, “Peace to you.” He said that the God of their fathers had put treasure in their sacks! What? Were they hearing correctly?
They were!
The Hebrew-speaking steward had responded Shalom lakem, “Peace to you,” the traditional Hebrew greeting for receiving guests. It meant that the arriving guests were received in concrete terms of “peace” and security.
As people say today, “No worries!”
Mercy was beginning to flow. Shalom lakem from an Egyptian! The steward’s declaration wasn’t describing a miracle, like God dropping money in their sacks during a flyover. The steward knew who put the money in the sacks and wasn’t trying to deceive the brothers, who also knew, of course, it was the steward himself. His point was that their God had been at work through human agents.
The pagan Egyptian steward instructed Israel’s sons about God’s providential care for them through the actions of other people. We wonder, did Joseph tell his steward to say all of this? Likely, but it makes no difference because he was expressing the absolute truth. Their father Israel’s prayer “May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man” was being answered.
Did they remember it? Probably not. Life was swirling around them. There was no time to reflect. And in this, Simeon, who had been hostage for two years, was brought out, no longer a hostage. His presence spoke forgiveness. The charges of theft had been dropped.
And so, in a dizzy state, the brothers busied themselves in preparing to meet the viceroy.
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,
they prepared the present for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they should eat bread there.
At noon the viceroy entered the room, and the brothers presented their gift and bowed low to the ground. Joseph’s greeting to his brothers is one of the most beautiful scenes in the entire story of Joseph.
Joseph’s theme is shalom, for the word is used three times.
And he inquired about their welfare and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”
They said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves.
27 And he inquired about their welfare [shalom] and said, “Is your father well [literally, “Does your father have shalom?”], the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” 28 They said, “Your servant our father is well [has shalom]; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves.
Both the viceroy and his yet-to-be-enlightened brothers were awash in peace and well-being.
This was so lovely, and the beauty of the meeting further elevated as Joseph engaged Benjamin.
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!”
In addressing Benjamin, Joseph communicated tender, paternal affection. And his “God be gracious to you” is the same word found in the benediction of Numbers 6:25, “the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you,” indicating a special blessing, because these words don’t appear anywhere else in the Old Testament.
Joseph invoked grace upon Benjamin with a unique expression.
With this, the meeting peaked.
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.
The same Hebrew word is translated “mercy” in verse 14 and “compassion” here in verse 30, so that we can read, “his mercy grew warm for his brother,” or as the Hebrew literally reads, “his mercies were heated up for his brother.”
Jacob’s prayer that God Almighty would grant them mercy before the viceroy had been answered. Indeed, it had been answered in every event of the day. Tender mercies were served in the house of Joseph! And in private, hot tears flowed from Joseph’s eyes as he wept alone.
Joy and sorrow were surely mixed in those tears. But the joy was in what had begun that day and what was yet to come.
After regaining his composure and washing his face, Joseph gave orders.
Then he washed his face and came out. And controlling himself he said, “Serve the food.”
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.
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.
They ate in their separate groups—Joseph alone as a social superior, the Egyptians by themselves because of religious scruples, and the Hebrews alone by elimination.
Here was hidden irony as Joseph hosted a meal for his brothers who years earlier had sat down to a meal while he pleaded with them for his life. But while in the first meal he was the victim, now he was the victor.
The accuracy of Joseph’s seating them from oldest to youngest astonished the brothers. Joseph, they imagined, had been supernaturally enlightened as to their family. The feasting was laced with awe.
One commentator writes:
The meal has an exalted meaning in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.… The simple satisfaction of hunger would not be considered a meal in the Bible. One need only remember the shared meals of Jesus and his disciples, the last of which demonstrates this in a special way.
The meal is not just an expression of a communion but causes and preserves this commonality. The acceptance of a guest into the fellowship of the meal is therefore simultaneously the granting of participation in one’s own existence.
Joseph had welcomed his brothers into his own existence. It would not be long until his father and scores of his nieces and nephews would join him in Egypt. Their shared existence would become eternal.
It was a grand feast with plenty of food and drink. And as it progressed,
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.
Joseph was generous to all his brothers, but five times more so to young Benjamin. Joseph wanted to see what they would do with such favoritism. Would those old animosities and envies resurface? Luckily, they didn’t.
It was a great day. Good things had happened that day, as one commentator explains:
In this chapter the brothers promised to take the blame for any catastrophe (responsibility); they acknowledged their culpability and made restitution for the money in their sacks (honesty); they retrieved their brother from prison in Egypt (unity); they recognized that God was at work in their midst (belief); and they rejoiced in their provisions, even when a brother was receiving more then they were (gratitude).
Mercy is written over this account from beginning to end.
Israel’s prayer had been answered. Mercy rained down on his sons all the day long. Joseph boiled over with mercy for Benjamin, and tears streaked his face. The feast was one of grace and mercy. The celebration went on into the night.
And they drank and were merry with him.
Their fears proved groundless.
But morning was coming. And with it was coming a test over Benjamin that would try their spirit. The day of mercy had been a beautiful beginning. But there was much more to be done. A day of severer mercy was about to dawn.
William Cowper would write:
God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds you so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.
