Genesis 47:1-31

So Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan. They are now in the land of Goshen.” And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, as our fathers were.” They said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. And now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them settle in the land of Goshen, and if you know any able men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”

Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and stood him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?” And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning.” 10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. 11 Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. 12 And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their dependents.

1326

27 Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly. 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were 147 years.

29 And when the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh and promise to deal kindly and truly with me. Do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place.” He answered, “I will do as you have said.” 31 And he said, “Swear to me”; and he swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself upon the head of his bed.

(ESV)

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Pharaoh gave Joseph’s family some of the best grazing land of Egypt. He even put some of them in charge of his own livestock.

When Jacob was presented to Pharaoh he acknowledged that he had lived a troubled life of 130 years. Jacob blessed Pharaoh. The Israelites are now in a foreign land, living in a different culture, and their patriarch (family leader) wished God’s blessing on Pharaoh.

As the famine persevered the people ran out of money to buy food. Then Joseph acquired their livestock in exchange for food. Finally, he acquired their land and homes in exchange for food. By the end of the famine, Joseph had acquired all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. Then Joseph gave them all seed to replant the land in exchange that they give one-fifth of all the produce back to Pharaoh (essentially a rental price). The people survived but they were in bondage to Pharaoh.

Israel settled in Egypt in the land of Goshen and prospered and multiplied. God blessed His people as He had promised Abraham. They were quickly growing into a great nation.

Jacob lived seventeen years in Egypt to the age of 147. When he was near to death he called Joseph and made him promise not to bury him in Egypt but in the burial site of Abraham and Isaac.

Pharaoh recognised God’s hand on Joseph and put him in charge over Egypt. Pharaoh honoured God’s people, Joseph’s family, by giving them the best of the land of Egypt. As a result we see God blessing Pharaoh greatly. In a couple hundred years a different Pharaoh isn’t going to treat God’s people well and God will deal harshly with him.

Genesis 46:1-34

So Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.”

Then Jacob set out from Beersheba. The sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him. They also took their livestock and their goods, which they had gained in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him, his sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters. All his offspring he brought with him into Egypt.

Now these are the names of the descendants of Israel, who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons. 27b All the persons of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt were seventy.

28 He had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to show the way before him in Goshen, and they came into the land of Goshen. 29 Then Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen. He presented himself to him and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while. 30 Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.” 31 Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32 And the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’ 33 When Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 you shall say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,’ in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”

(ESV)

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On the way to Egypt, the family stop at Beersheba, the place where God appeared to Abraham about sacrificing his son Isaac (Gen 21:31-22:2), and the place where God appeared to Isaac (Gen 26:23-24). There God encourages him and makes a promise that Joseph will close his eyes—Joseph will be with him when he dies. God has not ignored the fact that Joseph has been without Joseph for all these years. God cares for us personally (1 Pet 5:7).

The family that arrived in Egypt was seventy people (including Joseph’s family). Sometimes numbers in the Bible feel a bit boring but in this case they show God working. When Jacob entered Canaan the family was about fourteen people and now it had grown to seventy. God had promised Abraham that he would make a nation from his offspring (Gen 12:2) and we now see the beginnings of that nation.

Jacob is reunited with Joseph. Jacob is ready to die in peace as God has fulfilled all his promises to him. Joseph continues to show wisdom as he sets up his family apart from the Egyptians in a separate part of Egypt. This will allow them to grow as a nation without adopting Egyptian culture and custom.

Genesis 45:16-28

16 When the report was heard in Pharaoh’s house, “Joseph’s brothers have come,” it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. 17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan, 18 and take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.’ 19 And you, Joseph, are commanded to say, ‘Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. 20 Have no concern for your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

21 The sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. 22 To each and all of them he gave a change of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five changes of clothes. 23 To his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey. 24 Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way.”

25 So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. 26 And they told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. 27 But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28 And Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

(ESV)

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When Pharaoh heard that Joseph’s brothers had come he was pleased and told Joseph to send his brothers to fetch their entire family and bring them to Egypt. He promised them the best of the land. He told them not to even worry about their possessions they were leaving behind because the best of the land of Egypt was theirs. Joseph sent them with wagons to bring back their wives and children. He gave each of his brothers clothes, but to Benjamin, he gave 330g of silver and five changes of clothes. They loaded ten donkeys with gifts from Egypt and ten donkeys with food for their journey. Joseph sends them off with a warning not to argue on the way.

When the brothers got home, they told Jacob that Joseph was alive and ruler over the entire land of Egypt. Jacob was stunned in unbelief. But when he was told all that Joseph had said and shown the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry them back to Egypt he was convinced. His spirit was revived and he decided to go and see Joseph before he died. This move of Jacob (Israel) and his family to Egypt was a fulfilment of God’s prophecy to Abraham that his offspring would move to a land and multiply (Gen 15:13-16)

Jacob had lived for around 13 years believing his son, Joseph, was dead. In a sense, God has brought Joesph back to life from Jacob’s point of view. Even things that seem completely hopeless are never hopeless with God. How could things be different if, instead of focussing on what we’ve lost, we focussed instead on the God who gives good gifts to those who love Him (Mat 7:11; Jas 1:17)?

Genesis 45:1-15

Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, “Make everyone go out from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.

So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not tarry. 10 You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11 There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.’ 12 And now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth that speaks to you. 13 You must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.” 14 Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. After that his brothers talked with him.

(ESV)

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Joseph couldn’t control himself any longer. Judah’s confession and readiness to sacrifice himself for Benjamin revealed the brothers’ repentance. Joseph sent everyone out of the room so he could be alone with his brothers and let them know who he really was. He offered them complete forgiveness by telling them that they don’t need to be distressed or angry with themselves because they sold him into slavery because God sent him ahead of them to preserve their lives. He explained that the famine that had lasted two years would last another five. Repeatedly he pointed to God being the one who orchestrated events. God had sent him ahead. God had made him ruler over the land of Egypt. God had sent him to preserve life.

Then Joseph told his brothers to go back and fetch his entire family. They were all to move to Egypt so that they could survive the famine and not come to poverty. Then Joseph embraced Benjamin and wept with him. Then he did the same with all his brothers. Then they talked together. What a beautiful picture of complete reconciliation.

“It was not you who sent me here, but God.” This sentence sums up the story of Joseph. God, in His sovereignty, overrules human choices and actions, whether good or evil, to achieve His purpose. God’s sovereign use of human action doesn’t absolve them of the responsibility of their actions. It also doesn’t mean that those things that happened are in themselves always good. God uses all things for our good (Rom 8:28). He doesn’t make them good. He doesn’t change them to good. God allows the bad to happen but His plan and the results he works are always good.

Genesis 44:18-34

18 Then Judah went up to him and said, “Oh, my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not your anger burn against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself. 19 My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father, or a brother?’ 20 And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a young brother, the child of his old age. His brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him.’ 21 Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.’ 22 We said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’ 23 Then you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall not see my face again.’

24 “When we went back to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. 25 And when our father said, ‘Go again, buy us a little food,’ 26 we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother goes with us, then we will go down. For we cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ 27 Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. 28 One left me, and I said, “Surely he has been torn to pieces,” and I have never seen him since. 29 If you take this one also from me, and harm happens to him, you will bring down my gray hairs in evil to Sheol.’

30 “Now therefore, as soon as I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us, then, as his life is bound up in the boy’s life, 31 as soon as he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. 32 For your servant became a pledge of safety for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father all my life.’ 33 Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers. 34 For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the evil that would find my father.”

(ESV)

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The change in Judah seems to represent the change in all the brothers. Judah was the one who initiated the sale of Joseph to the Ishmaelites (37:26-27). In chapter 38 he is involved in deception and immorality with Tamar. But we see that God had been working in his heart because he became surety for Benjamin (Gen 43:8-9). He admitted their original guilt, “God has found out the guilt of your servants” (Gen 43:16). In today’s passage, he pours out his heart in intercession for Benjamin, putting himself forward as a substitute slave for Benjamin in order to save his father the grief of losing Benjamin. He has moved from selling his brother to be a slave to being a slave in his brother’s place. He has moved from a callousness towards his father to a sacrificial concern for his well-being.

Where are you on the spectrum of putting others before yourself? You first in everything or completely self-sacrificing for others? Is there a specific relationship or situation that God is wanting you to lay down your self for?

Genesis 44:1-17

Then he commanded the steward of his house, “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, and put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, with his money for the grain.” And he did as Joseph told him.

As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away with their donkeys. They had gone only a short distance from the city. Now Joseph said to his steward, “Up, follow after the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? Is it not from this that my lord drinks, and by this that he practices divination? You have done evil in doing this.’”

When he overtook them, he spoke to them these words. They said to him, “Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! Behold, the money that we found in the mouths of our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house? Whichever of your servants is found with it shall die, and we also will be my lord’s servants.” 10 He said, “Let it be as you say: he who is found with it shall be my servant, and the rest of you shall be innocent.” 11 Then each man quickly lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack. 12 And he searched, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13 Then they tore their clothes, and every man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.

14 When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there. They fell before him to the ground. 15 Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination?” 16 And Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found.” 17 But he said, “Far be it from me that I should do so! Only the man in whose hand the cup was found shall be my servant. But as for you, go up in peace to your father.”

(ESV)

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Joseph told his steward to fill the brothers’ sacks and again put their money back in the top of their sacks. He told him to put his silver cup into Benjamin’s sack along with his money. Shortly after the brothers left, Joseph sent his steward after them to stop them and accuse them of repaying his good with evil. He had shown them hospitality and the accusation was that one of them had stolen from him. They are mortified at the accusation. They point out that they had brought back the extra silver they had found from the last trip. They go so far as to say that if the cup is found, the one who has stolen it should die and the rest will be his servants. The steward accepts their offer but modifies it. He said that whoever is found to have taken the cup would be his servant and the rest will be released as innocent. Then he searched the sacks beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.

The brothers are faced with another opportunity to betray one of their own. They could have walked away but they tore their clothes in grief, the same response they had caused their father all those years before over Joseph’s loss. They all returned to Joseph’s house together.

Joseph challenged them on what they had done. He continued to play the part of the Egyptian ruler. It’s unlikely he really practiced divination. Judah accepted all their guilt and offered no excuse. He said that they would all serve as his servants, not only Benjamin.

Joseph’s plan had been to bring the brother’s to the point where they accept their guilt. He had retained Simeon and now Benjamin to test whether they would remain selfish and indifferent to the suffering of their brothers and their father. Through Joseph, God has put the brothers through a series of situations that have reminded them of their guilt in what they did to Joseph all those years ago. Is there something God is repeatedly bringing to mind for you that you need to deal with today?

Genesis 43:16-34

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.

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.

(ESV)

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When Joseph saw that Benjamin is with his brothers, he had his steward take them to his house and prepare a meal for them to share with him. The brothers were afraid because they thought that they were going to be assaulted because of the money that was in their sacks. They went to Joseph’s steward and told him that they had found the money and that they had returned with all of it to repay it in full. The steward replied that the money in their sacks must have been a gift from God because he had received their money. Simeon was returned to them. They were then taken into Joseph’s house, given a chance to clean up and their donkeys were fed. They prepared the gift they had brought for Joseph.

When Joseph arrived, they brought him the gift they had prepared and bowed down to the ground. Joseph’s first dream was fulfilled (Gen 37:7). Joseph enquired about their (and his) father and they said he was still alive. When he saw his brother Benjamin (his full brother, the others were all half brothers) he was moved to tears and had to remove himself to weep and then compose himself. When the food was served, the brothers were seated from the eldest to the youngest. They were amazed that this “Egyptian” was able to know things like their birth order. The brothers were all given food from Joseph’s table but Benjamin was shown special favour and he received five times as much as the others. They all ate and drank and were merry with him. The Hebrew word for “merry” means they became intoxicated or got drunk. The Bible is often very plain when it speaks of how people behaved. Just because the Bible describes people doing certain things, doesn’t mean that they should have been doing those things. There are places where God is clear about how we should act (eg. Eph 5:18) but it also describes how people still choose to act their own way. When we look at characters in the Bible, they can be an example to us on how to act and how not to act.

Genesis 43:1-15

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.” 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’?” 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. 10 If we had not delayed, we would now have returned twice.”

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.”

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.

(ESV)

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The famine was severe and it wasn’t long before Jacob’s family had finished the grain they had bought from Egypt. Jacob tells the brothers to go and buy some more food but Judah reminds him that the trip would be completely useless if they didn’t take Benjamin with them. The man (Joseph) had told them they would not see his face again if their brother wasn’t with them. Israel (Jacob) asked why they had treated him so badly as to tell the man that they had another brother. How could they have known that answering his questions about their family would have resulted in a request to bring the brother to Egypt? Judah (the fourth brother and the one who had the idea to sell Joseph) takes personal responsibility for Benjamin. He succeeds in getting his father to release Benjamin where Reuben had failed.

Jacob tells them to take along some of the choice produce of the land as gifts. He sends them with some balm, honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. These delicacies were not easily available in Egypt (Gen 37:25). He also told them to take twice the amount of money so they could return the money found in their sacks in case it was an oversight. Finally Jacob resigns himself to the fact that he might lose a third son but prays that God would grant them mercy and return Simeon and Benjamin.

Jacob’s faith seems to be very feeble at this point. He has resigned himself to the fact that he might lose more children. I wonder if he is even remembering the dreams of his favourite son anymore (Gen 37:11) or perhaps he was plagued by them. But despite Jacob’s feeble faith, God is still doing His mighty work. Our sin and the sin of those around us can place us in very difficult situations, situations that might seem completely hopeless. But God is always working for our good. Stories like these are in the Bible to show us that God is always good and above our situation. When your situation causes you to lose sight of who God is, let stories like this remind you that He is in-fact “God Almighty” who works all things for the good of those who love him (Rom 8:28).

Genesis 42:21-38

21 Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” 22 And Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.” 23 They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them. 24 Then he turned away from them and wept. And he returned to them and spoke to them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. 25 And Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, and to replace every man’s money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. This was done for them.

26 Then they loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed. 27 And as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his money in the mouth of his sack. 28 He said to his brothers, “My money has been put back; here it is in the mouth of my sack!” At this their hearts failed them, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”

29 When they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them, saying, 30 “The man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us and took us to be spies of the land. 31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we have never been spies. 32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father. One is no more, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.’ 33 Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I shall know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for the famine of your households, and go your way. 34 Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I shall know that you are not spies but honest men, and I will deliver your brother to you, and you shall trade in the land.’”

35 As they emptied their sacks, behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack. And when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid. 36 And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has come against me.” 37 Then Reuben said to his father, “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.” 38 But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If harm should happen to him on the journey that you are to make, you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.”

(ESV)

STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?

  • What is the writer saying?
  • How do I apply this to my life?

💡How to do your quiet time


The brothers recognise that they are facing a reckoning for what they did to Joseph. They acknowledge their guilt amongst themselves but they have not repented. Remorse is not repentance, but it is a necessary first step. Reuben’s response is interesting. He asks, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning.” He had prevented them from killing Joseph but he had not stepped up enough to keep Joseph safe. He had a weak plan to come back later and help Joseph but when he came back it was too late (Gen 37:21-22, 29-30). If we are to stand up for the marginalised then we must do it completely. If you find yourself in a group picking on someone weaker, don’t make a few quips in their defence and then leave the group to continue, thinking you have done right by them. Stand up for them completely.

Joseph had Simeon (the second eldest) bound in front of them and taken to prison. Then they were given the grain they had come to buy but Joseph had their money returned to them hidden in their sacks. On the way home one of the brothers found his money in his sack as he was feeding a donkey. Again they find themselves trembling and asking what God has done to them. Perhaps they are scared that they will be accused of stealing the money, which will validate Joseph’s accusation that they are spies. When we carry unconfessed guilt around with us, then even blessings can cause our guilt to rise. Unconfessed sin festers inside you as you constantly question everything that happens, wondering if you are about to be found out or ultimately pay for what you have done. It is far better to bring sin into the light, confess and ask forgiveness (Psalm 69:5; Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:8-10).

Back in Canaan the brothers told their father what had happened. They had been accused of being spies but they had replied that they were honest men. When they opened their sacks each one had money fall out. “When they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid.” Perhaps Jacob thought they had sold their brother Simeon. Jacob is grieved because now he has lost two sons and they are asking to take away Benjamin, the only other son of Rachel. Reuben tries to promise to keep Benjamin safe but the promise carries no weight because he failed to keep Joseph safe all those years before. Jacob won’t hear of it. If something were to happen to Benjamin he would die of sorrow, the same thing he said when he heard about Joseph’s “death” (Gen 37:35). What will happen to this torn family?

Genesis 42:1-20

When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.” So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might happen to him. Thus the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

Now Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. “Where do you come from?” he said. They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.” And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. And he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land.” 10 They said to him, “No, my lord, your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all sons of one man. We are honest men. Your servants have never been spies.”

12 He said to them, “No, it is the nakedness of the land that you have come to see.” 13 And they said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no more.” 14 But Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you. You are spies. 15 By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.” 17 And he put them all together in custody for three days.

18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: 19 if you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody, and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households, 20 and bring your youngest brother to me. So your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so.

(ESV)

STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?

  • What is the writer saying?
  • How do I apply this to my life?

💡How to do your quiet time


The scene returns to Canaan where Joseph’s family are also struggling in the famine. Joseph’s brothers are clearly at a loss for what to do. Jacob’s response, “Why do you look at one another?” is a lot like today’s saying, “Don’t just stand there, do something.” Jacob tells them that he has heard that there is food for sale in Egypt and sends them to buy food. He doesn’t allow Benjamin to go with them. While he hasn’t found out the truth of what happened to Joseph, Jacob seems to be aware of his sons’ character flaws and is perhaps afraid that if Benjamin (the other son of Rachel) goes with them, then something will happen to him under their care as well. Poor choices in life lead to a bad character and a bad reputation. It can be incredibly hard to recover from the bad choices we make—especially if we remain unrepentant. Contrast Joseph with his brothers. Who are you growing to be like? A person of character and faith, or a person of deceit and poor choices?

The brothers arrive and have to come before Joseph to buy food. They bow before him and don’t recognise him, but he recognises them. He remembered his dreams. But there is a problem. Joseph’s dreams were about eleven brothers and his parents bowing before him and here are only ten. The dreams are not yet fulfilled. Joseph knew that the entire family needed to come to Egypt and so he begins to work a plan to get them there. His actions with his brothers seem harsh but there is an underlying love as he works things to get them to see the error of their ways and bring them to a point of repentance.