Genesis 43.29-30-Joseph Expresses His Brotherly Love For Benjamin By Weeping
Wednesday February 14, 2007
Genesis: Genesis 43:29-30-Joseph Expresses His Brotherly Love For Benjamin By Weeping
Lesson # 281
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 43:1.
This evening we will continue with our study of Genesis 43, which contains the record of the second journey of Joseph’s brothers to Egypt.
Genesis 43 is divided into three sections: (1) Jacob’s family holds negotiations to return to Egypt (Genesis 43:1-14) (2) Joseph’s brothers arrive in Egypt and have conversation with Joseph’s steward about the silver in their bags (Genesis 43:15-25) (3) Joseph has lunch with his brothers in his home (Genesis 43:26-34).
In Genesis 43:1-10, we read where Judah negotiated with his father for a return to Egypt with Benjamin in order to secure the release of Simeon who was still imprisoned at the time in Egypt as well as to buy grain to for their starving family.
This was followed by our study of Genesis 43:11-14 where we saw Israel operating in faith and agreeing to send Benjamin back to Egypt along with his other sons.
In Genesis 43:15-25, we read where Joseph’s brothers arrive in Egypt with Benjamin and have a conversation with Joseph’s house steward regarding the silver that was returned to them without their knowledge.
On Tuesday we studied Genesis 43:26-28, which records the fulfillment of the second stage of Joseph’s two prophetic dreams, which are recorded in Genesis 37:5-11.
This evening we will study Genesis 43:29-30, which records Joseph being overcome with emotion upon seeing his full brother Benjamin for the first time in over twenty years.
Genesis 43:1, “Now the famine was severe in the land.”
Genesis 43:2, “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.’”
Genesis 43:3, “Judah spoke to him, however, saying, ‘The man solemnly warned us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’”
Genesis 43:4, “If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food.”
Genesis 43:5, “But if you do not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’”
Genesis 43:6, “Then Israel said, ‘Why did you treat me so badly by telling the man whether you still had another brother?’”
Genesis 43:7, “But they said, ‘The man questioned particularly about us and our relatives, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ So we answered his questions. Could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down'?’”
Genesis 43:8, “Judah said to his father Israel, ‘Send the lad with me and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, we as well as you and our little ones.’”
Genesis 43:9, “I myself will be surety for him; you may hold me responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame before you forever.”
Genesis 43:10, “For if we had not delayed, surely by now we could have returned twice.”
Genesis 43:11, “Then their father Israel said to them, ‘If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and carry down to the man as a present, a little balm and a little honey, aromatic gum and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds.’”
Genesis 43:11, “Then their father Israel said to them, ‘If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and carry down to the man as a present, a little balm and a little honey, aromatic gum and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds.’”
Genesis 43:12, “Take double the money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was a mistake.”
Genesis 43:13-14, “Take your brother also, and arise, return to the man and may God Almighty grant you compassion in the sight of the man, so that he will release to you your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.’”
Genesis 43:15, “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.”
Genesis 43:16, “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.’”
Genesis 43:17, “So the man did as Joseph said, and brought the men to Joseph's house.”
Genesis 43:18, “Now the men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph's house; and they said, ‘It is because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time that we are being brought in, that he may seek occasion against us and fall upon us, and take us for slaves with our donkeys.’”
Genesis 43:19-21, “So they came near to Joseph's house steward, and spoke to him at the entrance of the house, and said, ‘Oh, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food, and it came about when we came to the lodging place, that we opened our sacks, and behold, each man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full. So we have brought it back in our hand.’”
Genesis 43:22, “We have also brought down other money in our hand to buy food; we do not know who put our money in our sacks.”
Genesis 43:23, “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.”
Genesis 43:24, “Then the man brought the men into Joseph's house and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys fodder.”
Genesis 43:25, “So they prepared the present for Joseph's coming at noon; for they had heard that they were to eat a meal there.”
Genesis 43:26, “When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present which was in their hand and bowed to the ground before him.”
Genesis 43:27, “Then he asked them about their welfare, and said, ‘Is your old father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?’”
Genesis 43:28, “They said, ‘Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.’ They bowed down in homage.”
Genesis 43:29, “As he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, he said, ‘Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?’ And he said, ‘May God be gracious to you, my son.’”
The statement “He (Joseph) lifted up his eyes and saw” brings the reader alongside of Joseph, capturing the scene for us, heightening the tension of the narrative, indicating the importance and magnitude of the moment.
This statement also emphasizes the “providence of God,” which by way of definition, is the divine outworking of the divine decree, the object being the final manifestation of God’s glory and expresses the fact that the world and our lives are not ruled by chance or fate but by God.
Therefore, this statement emphasizes that the reunion between Joseph and his lone full brother, Benjamin was not by chance or fate but was ordained to take place in time by God in the divine decree.
The phrase “his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son” emphasizes the special bond between Joseph and Benjamin in that they had the same mother, Rachel and thus Benjamin was Joseph’s only full brother.
Joseph’s only full brother was Benjamin since Gad, Asher, Dan, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun had different mothers.
The mother of Gad and Asher was Zilpah, Leah’s maid (See Genesis 30:9-13) and the mother of Dan and Naphtali was Bilhah, Rachel’s maid (See Genesis 30:1-8) and the mother of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah (See Genesis 29:31-35), Issachar, and Zebulun was Leah (See Genesis 30:14-21).
Joseph asks his brothers the question, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?” in order to continue to conceal his identity.
The statement “May God be gracious to you, my son” was the usual salutation in the east from the aged and superiors to the younger and inferiors, which, though very emphatic and expressive in ancient times, in the present day means no more than “I am very glad to see you.”
However, although this statement further concealed Joseph’s identity from his brothers, Joseph’s real intention for saying this to Benjamin was to express his desire that God would treat his lone full brother according to His grace policy by bestowing upon him unmerited blessings.
Grace is all that God is free to do in imparting unmerited blessings to us based upon the merits of Christ and His death on the Cross-and our eternal union with Him.
Grace is God treating us in a manner that we don’t deserve and excludes any human works in order to acquire eternal salvation or blessing from God.
Grace means that God saved us and blessed us despite ourselves and not according to anything that we do but rather saved us and blessed us because of the merits of Christ and His work on the Cross.
Grace excludes any human merit in salvation and blessing (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5) and gives the Creator all the credit and the creature none.
At this point in the narrative, Benjamin was more than twenty-two years of age since Benjamin was born before Joseph went down to Egypt.
Genesis 43:30, “Joseph hurried out for he was deeply stirred over his brother, and he sought a place to weep; and he entered his chamber and wept there.”
Joseph hurries out of the room in order to continue to conceal his tears, which would have revealed his identity to his brothers.
He continues to conceal his identity from his brothers since he must test the character of his brothers before there can be reconciliation.
“For” is the explanatory use of the conjunction ki (yK!) (kee), which introduces a subordinate clause that “explains” why Joseph hurried out of the room upon being seeing his lone full brother, Benjamin for the first time in over twenty years.
“He was deeply stirred over” is composed of the following: (1) Niphal (passive) form of the verb kamar (rm^K*) (kaw-mar), “to stir up” (2) 3rd person masculine singular pronominal suffix, “his” (3) Masculine plural noun rechem (<j#r#) (rakh-am), “affections.”
Therefore, Joseph left the room because his affections for Benjamin were stirred up when he saw him for the first time in over twenty years.
The sight of Benjamin aroused overwhelming feelings of affection in Joseph, which can only be relieved through tears.
“Wept” is the verb bakhah (hkB) (baw-kaw), which refers to audible weeping.
Joseph’s emotional response expressed his relief that his lone full brother Benjamin was indeed still alive and that his brothers did not kill him as they attempted to do to him over twenty years before.
Weeping is an emotion and emotion is the responder to what is in the mentality of the soul and so we see that Joseph’s weeping is an expression of his emotion, which is the response to what was in the mentality of his soul, which was love for his brothers and gratitude towards the Lord.
The Lord Jesus wept at Lazarus’ tomb (John 11:6) and before His entrance into Jerusalem to present Himself to the nation of Israel as Messiah (See Luke 19:41) and believers are commanded to weep with those who weep (See Romans 12:15).
If you recall in Genesis 42:24, Joseph wept upon hearing his brothers confess their guilt in their cruel treatment of him when he was seventeen years of age and which confession would lead to reconciliation with them.
Altogether, we will see Joseph weep three times during this process of reconciliation with his brothers (See Genesis 42:24; 43:30; 45:1-2; 14-15).
Chuck Swindoll commenting on Joseph’s tears, writes, “Can’t you imagine the scene? All of a sudden, the handsome, bronzed leader of millions has rushed to his bedroom and collapsed in sobs. All those years passed in review. All the loneliness. All the loss. All the seasons and birthdays and significant occasions without his family. It was too much to contain, like a rushing river pouring into a lake, swelling above the dam. His tears ran and he heaved with great sobs. All of a sudden, he was a little boy again, missing his daddy” (Joseph: Man of Integrity and Forgiveness, page 127; W Publishing Group).
The Scriptures have much to say about our tears.
Ecclesiastes 3:4, “A time to weep and a time to laugh.”
The Lord has a record of our tears.
Psalm 56:8, “You have taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book?”
The apostle Paul wept and Timothy wept.
Acts 20:18-19, “You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews.”
2 Corinthians 2:4, “For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.”
2 Timothy 1:4, “longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy.”
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ wept.
Hebrews 5:7, “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.”
The Lord promises to wipe away all our tears.
Isaiah 25:8, “He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces.”
Luke 6:21, “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.”
Believers are commanded to weep with those who weep.
Romans 12:15, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”
Joseph’s weeping was not only an expression of his love and affection for his lone full brother, Benjamin but also an expression of gratitude towards the Lord for reuniting him with Benjamin.
Psalm 86:12, “I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and will glorify Your name forever.”
Psalm 106:1, “Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Hebrews 13:15, “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.”
