Genesis 42 - Joseph Meets His Brothers in Egypt
Verses 1-4 tells us Jacob sends his sons to Egypt to buy grain.
“When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” And he said, “Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may live and not die.” So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “Lest some calamity befall him.”
Why do you look at one another? Jacob noticed a strange expression among the brothers when Egypt was mentioned, because the brothers knew it was likely Joseph was sold as a slave there. Their conscience made them feel terrible ANY TIME Egypt was mentioned.
Joseph’s brothers had lived with a TERRIBLE secret these 20 years. They NEVER talked about it but it NEVER left them. Any mention of Joseph or Egypt would dredge up the guilt. They needed to be set free from the power of this terrible secret.
Lest some calamity befall him…The impression we have of Jacob (ISRAEL) from this chapter is of a man who is BITTER & PESSIMISTIC about everything. Because of this calamity, he believes another disaster is on the way.
IT DOESN’T TAKE ROCKET SCIENCE TO KNOW WHO HAS BEEN MUTTERING IN JACOB/ISRAEL EAR FOR 20 YEARS, AMEN?
Jacob did NOT send Joseph’s brother Benjamin: In keeping with this attitude, he demanded Benjamin be left behind. Though he had 11 sons ONLY ONE was a son of his beloved wife Rachel, and Jacob felt he must protect him & KEEP HIM CLOSE LEST HE LOSE HIM TOO.
I THINK IT IS SAFE TO SAY THAT JACOB WAS AN OVER-PROTECTIVE FATHER…AT THE END OF HIS LIFE…AND ESPECIALLY WITH THE LAST SON OF HIS BELOVED RACHEL.
Yet, if Jacob only knew! If he could ONLY trust the hand of God which he could not see! In fact, the only reason there is grain in Egypt to provide for their needs is because God sent Joseph on ahead. God KNEW what He was doing, AMEN!
Famine is NEVER A GOOD thing, but God USED IT FOR GOOD. God can and does use material need and lack in our life to get us to do things we normally would never do. Normally, the brothers would NEVER go NEAR Egypt. But need drove them to Egypt.
Verses 5-6 tells us the sons of Jacob bow down before Joseph.
“And the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who journeyed, for the famine was in the land of Canaan. Now Joseph was governor over the land; and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the earth.”
BOWED DOWN before him with their faces to the earth: They KNEW that in this time of famine, their lives literally DEPENDED on this Egyptian official. Therefore they paid him GREAT respect by bowing.
Obviously, this reminded Joseph of the dream he had some 20 years before, that his brothers WOULD bow down to him in Genesis 37:5-8.
HOW IRONIC…ISN’T IT…When Joseph’s brothers plotted murder against him and sold him into slavery they did it specifically attempting to DEFEAT his dreams told to us in Genesis 37:19-20. Instead, by sending Joseph to Egypt, they provided the way the dreams WOULD BE fulfilled.
The AMAZING AND STEADFAST AND ABSOLUTE truth of God’s providence is He CAN and DOES use the evil actions of man towards us to further His good plan. This never excuses man’s evil, but it means God’s wisdom and goodness ARE GREATER than man’s evil.
REMEMBER PSALM 76:10 which confirms this…“Surely the wrath of man shall praise You.”
Verses 7-17 tells us Joseph interrogates his brothers and puts them into prison.
“Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted as a stranger to them and spoke roughly to them. Then he said to them, “Where do you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.” So Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. Then Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land!” And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. “We are all one man’s sons; we are honest men; your servants are not spies.” But he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.” And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more.” But Joseph said to them, “It is as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You are spies!’ In this manner you shall be tested: By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of you, and let him bring your brother; and you shall be kept in prison, that your words may be tested to see whether there is any truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!” So he put them all together in prison three days.”
REMEMBER…Joseph, speaking through an interpreter (he did not yet want to reveal that he speaks Hebrew), did not reveal his identity to his brothers, but instead treated them roughly.
Joseph was NOT playing games with his bothers. Some commentators believe that if it were up to Joseph, he would have revealed himself to his brothers right then and there. But God RECALLED THE DREAMS TO HIS MIND and guided him to be an instrument for NOT ONLY THEIR CORRECTION BUT THEIR RESTORATION TOO.
God can, and must, sometimes use ways we think are harsh to call us to where He wants us to be. We must never resent it, because it was the hardness of our hearts that demanded it.
JUST AS KING DAVID REMINDS us in Psalm 119:67, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word.”
One is no more…THIS WAS A BALD-FACED LIE, and the brothers knew it. They had every reason to believe Joseph was not dead, but living a horrible life of slavery. Perhaps they had repeated the lie to themselves so often they came to believe it.
Verses 18-20 tells us Joseph gives the terms for their release from prison.
“Then Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God: If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses. And bring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so.”
After ONLY THREE MEASLY DAYS in an Egyptian prison, (remember Joseph was in that prison FOR YEARS), but nevertheless, the brothers ready to agree to whatever Joseph wanted them to do. This was good, because Joseph was clearly in control.
I fear God…Joseph didn’t want his brothers to fear him as much as he wanted his brothers to trust him. If the brothers were wise enough to consider what this really meant, it would be a great comfort to them.
IF you are honest men: Joseph’s demand was clear. They had to PROVE they were not spies by proving they were honest and that they told the truth about the brother back home. The brothers agreed to this (And they did so) but only reluctantly, because they knew their father would NEVER want to part with Benjamin…HIS ONLY REMAINING BELOVED SON.
Verses 21-24 tells us the guilty conscience of Joseph’s brothers at work.
“Then they said to one another, “We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us.” And Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us.” But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter. And he turned himself away from them and wept. Then he returned to them again, and talked with them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.”
They thought this mess was before them BECAUSE OF THE WAY they treated Joseph before, and their conscience was pricked. This was a good sign. The quickness with which they associated these events with their sin against Joseph probably meant they OFTEN REMEMBERED their sin against him.
LOGICALLY THINKING…THERE WAS NO CONNECTION between their current situation and their previous treatment of Joseph. BUT WE ALL KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE, DON’T WE THAT A GUILTY CONSCIENCE sees every trouble as sin’s penalty, AMEN?
AN INTERESTING FACTOID, DID YOU KNOW The United States government has something called the Federal Conscience Fund, which collects money people send in because they know they cheated the government in some way. People have sent in money because they took army blankets for souvenirs, for cheating on postage, or on income tax. But our consciences are notoriously weak or corrupt. One man wrote the IRS and said, “I cheated on my taxes and can’t sleep at night. Here is a check for $100. If I still can’t sleep, I’ll send the rest I owe.”
In these words we HEAR the conscience of the brothers at work. Some describe the conscience as the “sundial of the soul.” It tells time well enough when there is light, but in darkness it is of no use. At night, you can shine a flashlight on a sundial and make it read any time you want it to. When the light of God’s word shines on our conscience, it is reliable and trustworthy.
He turned himself away from them and wept: Joseph was overcome with emotion as he saw and understood this work of God in the conscience of his brothers. God had to do a profound work in the hearts of these brothers for the relationship to be reconciled.
There could be no quick and easy “We are sorry, Joseph!” in this situation. God will guide events so the brothers see their SIN CLEARLY and REPENT COMPLETELY before Joseph is revealed and relationship is restored.
BUT DO YOU NOTICE, EVEN ON THE DAY OF RECKONING, EVEN BEFORE THE BROTHERS RESTORATION, WE SEE JOSEPH’S HEART…DO WE NOT?
Joseph will NOT ALLOW himself to be bound by bitterness and hatred. He STILL LOVES his brothers and wants to be with them (he returned to them again, and talked with them).
Joseph retained Simeon as a prisoner to guarantee the return of the brothers. Simeon was NOT mentioned as having a prominent role in the selling of Joseph, as both Reuben and Judah were, remember in Genesis 37:21-28, so we don’t know exactly WHY Simeon was chosen. Perhaps he EVEN volunteered.
Jacob’s sons return home to Canaan.
Verses 25-28 tells us the brothers return to Canaan & find their money returned.
“Then Joseph gave a command to fill their sacks with grain, to restore every man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. Thus he did for them. So they loaded their donkeys with the grain and departed from there. But as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the encampment, he saw his money; and there it was, in the mouth of his sack. So he said to his brothers, “My money has been restored, and there it is, in my sack!” Then their hearts failed them and they were afraid, saying to one another, “What is this that God has done to us?”
WHY DID THEY SAY THIS?
THINK ABOUT IT….THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE SCARED BEFORE…ALREADY BEING ACCUSED OF BEING SPIES…NOWWWWW they are TERRIFIED that they will be accused of being THIEVES TOO. EITHER OR BOTH ARE PUNISHABLE BY INSTANT DEATH IN EGYPTIAN LAWS.
What is this that God has done to us? The guilty consciences of the brothers are hard at work, bringing every adversity back to God. NOWWWWW…THEY ARE THINKING ABOUT GOD AND BLAMING GOD…WHEN THEY SHOULD HAVE DONE SO 20+ YEARS AGO, AMEN?
Verses 29-35 tells us they return to Jacob and tell him the story.
“Then they went to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying: “The man who is lord of the land spoke roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan.’ Then the man, the lord of the country, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for the famine of your households, and be gone. And bring your youngest brother to me; so I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. I will grant your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’ “ Then it happened as they emptied their sacks, that surprisingly each man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.”
The same brothers lied to their father some twenty years before, saying that Joseph was killed by a wild animal when they sold him to slave-traders.
The brothers REPEAT the lie again, and will be proven dramatically wrong.
Verse 36 tells us Jacob’s reaction: All these things are against me.
“And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are against me.”
Jacob HAS OBVIOUSLY LOST ALL TRUST in the ability of God to do more than he can see or understand. Jacob could not rest in faith, trusting God to take care of the things which he did not know.
IT IS AS IF Jacob’s heart sang this song: “No one loves me, this I know. My misfortunes tell me so.”
There was a sobering contrast between Jacob and Joseph. Joseph had far worse circumstances, but he never took the attitude all these things are against me, AMEN?
The motto of too many Christians is all these things are against me.
Instead, JESUS WANTS US TO HAVE HIS MOTTO…REMEMBER HIS PROMISE TO US IN Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
Verses 37-38 tells us Jacob refuses to let Benjamin go back to Egypt with them.
“Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.” But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.”
Reuben did the best he could, making the dramatic gesture to allow Jacob to take Reuben’s own two sons as surety, but Jacob would have none of it. He would not allow Benjamin to go to Egypt.
MY SON shall not go down with you…Apparently, Jacob didn’t think too much of Simeon, did he? It didn’t matter to him that Simeon spent the rest of his life in an Egyptian jail.
Genesis 43 - Joseph Meets His Brothers a Second Time
Verses 1-2 tells us Jacob decides to let the brothers return to Egypt with Benjamin & Jacob gives the order to get more food.
“Now the famine was severe in the land. And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.”
Perhaps Jacob originally thought they had enough to tide them over, so that they would never need to go back with Benjamin, and never need to go back and get Simeon. But OUR JESUS, THE GOD WHO SEES KNEW JACOB’S THOUGHTS & WOULD HAVE NONE OF IT…SO THE FOOD DID NOT LAST. JESUS MADE SURE THEY HAD TO GO BACK TO EGYPT, AMEN?
THE PATIENT DETERMINED FATHER…REMEMBER JONAH?
JONAH…GO TO NINEVAH.
NO…
OKAY…AFTER 3 DAYS IN THE BELLY OF A WHALE, JONAH SAID.
UMMMMM GOD…I’LL GO TO NINEVAH, AMEN?
NECESSITY DROVEEEEEEEEEE Jacob to do something he would normally never do. We might imagine Jacob prayed so hard for the famine to break, and asked God to send relief. We might imagine Jacob became angry and bitter against God for not answering those prayers. But God knew what He was doing and had something SO MUCH BETTER for Jacob than he could ever imagine.
Verses 3-10 tells us Judah convinces his father to let them go to Egypt with Benjamin.
“But Judah spoke to him, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ If you 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.’“ And Israel said, “Why did you deal so wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you had still another brother?” But they said, “The man asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we told him according to these words. Could we possibly have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the lad 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 myself will be surety for him; 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. For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time.”
Why did you deal so wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you had still another brother? Jacob clearly was grasping at straws. They must have discussed this question a hundred times before.
Judah put his own life ON THE LINE as a surety for Benjamin. This is the first good thing we see Judah doing. Previously, he was the one who had proposed the sale of Joseph. He was the one who wronged his daughter-in-law Tamar and had sex with her as a harlot.
Previously, Satan may have directed his attack against Joseph because he believed he was the one who would ultimately bring the Messiah. To this point, God had not revealed which of the 12 it would be.
Satan not only hated the children of Jacob for what they were, but also for what God would make of them. He directs the same kind of hatred against believers today, as Satan considers the destiny God has for His people.
BUT EVEN SATAN CAN NOTTTTTTTTT WIN OUT OVER OUR AMAZING GOD TO SEES AND KNOWS ALL, AMEN?
Verses 11-14 tells us Jacob sends them with money and gifts for the Egyptian leader.
“And their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and carry down a present for the man; a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. Take double money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man. And may God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!”
Take some of the BEST…Perhaps Jacob remembers how well it seemed to work when he showered Esau with gifts in Genesis 33:10-11.
They took DOUBLE money with them to Egypt to buy grain and the Egyptian leader’s favor. Since ten brothers went to Egypt and they took double money, there were 20 units of money.
AND DO YOU REMEMBER…This answers exactly to the 20 pieces of silver they SOLD Joseph for in Genesis 37:28. The words for silver and money are the same.
Verses 15-18 tells us they face Joseph again & he invites the brothers to dinner.
“So the men took that present and Benjamin, and they took double money in their hand, and arose and went down to Egypt; and they stood before Joseph. When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my home, and slaughter an animal and make ready; for these men will dine with me at noon.” Then the man did as Joseph ordered, and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house. Now the men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, “It is because of the money, which was returned in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may make a case against us and fall upon us, to take us as slaves with our donkeys.”
Perhaps they figured that the kindness from the Egyptian leader was just the prelude to an execution.
Verses 19-23 tells us the brothers explain about the money, and are treated well in Joseph’s house.
“When they drew near to the steward of Joseph’s house, they talked with him at the door of the house, and said, “O sir, we indeed came down the first time to buy food; but it happened, when we came to the encampment, that we opened our sacks, and there, each man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; so we have brought it back in our hand. And we have brought down other money in our hands to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.” But he said, “Peace be with you, 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.”
Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money: This was not a lie, because he really did have it, and he gave it back. It really was because of God’s goodness (if they only knew) that they had the money back.
Verses 24-30 tells us an emotionally charged meeting with Joseph and his brothers.
“So the man brought the men into Joseph’s house and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed. Then they made the present ready for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they would eat bread there. And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed down before him to the earth. Then he asked them about their well-being, and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves. Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your younger brother of whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” Now his heart yearned for his brother; so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. And he went into his chamber and wept there.”
The brothers STILL EXPECTED to be taken as slaves and have everything stolen…YET ONCE AGAIN, WE SEE JOSEPH’S HEART…HE TREATED THEM WITH KINDNESS. This love and goodness from Joseph will win them over.
The brothers RECEIVED the blessings of love and kindness from Joseph WITHOUT knowing who he was. In the same way, JESUS CHRIST showers love and blessing upon man even when man doesn’t know whom the blessing comes from, AMEN?
Joseph was especially affected at meeting his only full brother, Benjamin, whom he last saw as only a small child.
Verses 31-32 tells us the dinner tables are segregated.
“Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself, and said, “Serve the bread.” So they set him a place by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat food with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians.”
They set him a place by himself: Joseph did NOT eat with his brothers because at the time, Egypt was one of the MOST racist societies on earth. The believed that Egyptians came from the gods, and all other peoples came from lesser origins. There was absolutely NO social mixing with foreigners in the Egypt of Joseph’s day.
The Egyptians would NOT even eat with Joseph, much less these strangers from Canaan. Even with all his status and power, Joseph could still not eat with “REAL” Egyptians.
Herodotus, the historian wrote that Egyptians so abhorred things foreign, that priests, at least, ate and drank nothing that was imported, nor would they use utensils for eating that had been used by Greeks.
HERE WE SEE THE WISDOM AND PURPOSE OF ALMIGHTY GOD.
God WILL BRING the entire family of Jacob into Egypt, where they will be isolated from the surrounding people for some 400 years.
In that time, they WILL multiply greatly, increasing to the millions.
WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT?
If God had allowed them to remain in Canaan, they would have simply assimilated into the corrupt and godless peoples of Canaan.
REMEMBER HOW BAD IT HAD BECOME?
The rape of Dinah and its aftermath in Genesis 34.
The sin of Judah’s sons and Judah with Tamar (Genesis 38) revealed this danger.
God not only had to take the family of Israel OUT OF THE CORRUPT environment of Canaan, but He had to put them among a racist people who would not intermarry or even mingle with them.
God simply sent Joseph on ahead to make the arrangements.
Verses 33-34 tells us Joseph arranges them by order of birth and he favors Benjamin.
“And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth; and the men looked in astonishment at one another. Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamin’s serving was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him.”
No wonder the brothers were filled with astonishment. The arrangement of the brothers was so amazing because they sensed it couldn’t happen by chance. Statistically, the odds of placing 11 brothers in their PRECISE ORDER OF BIRTH are something like 1 in 40 million.
NOW WE UNDERSTAND THEIR SHOCK AND AWE!
Benjamin’s serving was five times as much as any of theirs…Joseph wanted to see HOW the brothers REACTED when the younger brother (in this case, Benjamin) was FAVORED, because they resented it so much when Joseph was favored by his father.
Joseph wanted to see if there was a change in the hearts of his brothers, or if they were the same men who threw him into a pit and were deaf to his cries for help.
This may be his whole motivation in asking for Benjamin. He wondered if they would take care of Benjamin on such a journey, as they failed to do with Joseph.
We should expect if we fail in a test somewhere, God will make arrangements for us to “TAKE THE TEST” again another time. This is a sobering reason to take the test “WELL” the first time.
ALMIGHTY GOD AND OUR JESUS CHRIST WANT US TO SEE, UNDERSTAND, TRUST AND KNOW ROMANS 8:28 THROUGH THE LIFE OF JOSEPH!