Genesis 43:1 – 45:15

Sunday Morning Bible Study

October 14, 2007

Introduction

During a visit to the mental asylum, a visitor asked the Director which is the criteria that defines a patient to be institutionalized. “Well,” said the Director, “we fill up a bathtub; we offer a teaspoon, a teacup, and a bucket to the patient and ask the patient to empty the bathtub. This is the test, would you use the spoon, the teacup, or the bucket?” “Oh, I understand,” said the visitor. “A normal person would choose the bucket since it is larger than the teacup or spoon.” “No,” answered the Director. “A normal person would pull the plug.”

Not quite the answer you first think of, huh?

There are times in life when we put each other through “tests”. We’ve been watching Joseph testing his brothers. But there is more than one type of test going on.

It had been over twenty years ago that Joseph had been kidnapped and sold as a slave by his brothers. And so when his brothers show up one day in Egypt, Joseph is cautious in how he treats his brothers. He apparently had learned to let go of his bitterness against his brothers, but that doesn’t mean he still isn’t concerned over whether or not they are still dirty rotten scoundrels. I imagine that his main concern is over the safety of his only other full brother, Benjamin. Had Benjamin been treated cruelly like he had been? Was he even still alive? And what about dad?

And this is why I believe we see Joseph treating his brothers the way he does. He doesn’t let them know who he is, but instead starts laying out a series of tests to see what his brothers have become.

We saw last week that Joseph treated his brothers a bit harshly at first, throwing them into prison and accusing them of being spies. He eventually only kept one of the brothers in prison until they come back next time, and that when they came back they were to bring Benjamin with them.

We also saw that he gave them another subtle test, not only sending them home with lots of grain, but putting all their money back in their sacks. How would they handle the unexpected money?

It is correct for us to try and discern true repentance in those who claim to be sorry. This is what Paul did with the Corinthians. He had written them some harsh things, but in the end he could tell that their repentance was real.

(2 Cor 7:9-11 NKJV) Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. {10} For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. {11} For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

Paul could tell that the Corinthians passed the test of repentance. Their actions showed they were sincerely sorry over their sin. We’ll see if Joseph’s brothers have truly changed.

Genesis 43

:1-15 Back to Egypt

:1 Now the famine was severe in the land.

:2 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."

:3 But Judah spoke to him, saying, "The man solemnly warned us, saying, 'You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.'"

:4 "If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food.

:5 "But if you will not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, 'You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.'"

:6 And Israel said, "Why did you deal so wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you had still another brother?"

:7 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'?"

:8 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.

:9 "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.

:10 "For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time."

This is very similar to what Reuben had offered about a year earlier (42:37), but Israel did not accept Reuben’s offer. Reuben had offered to let Jacob kill his own two sons if Benjamin didn’t return.

I wonder if Jacob is still struggling with Reuben’s character.

Reuben was the son that had committed adultery by sleeping with one of his father’s concubines.

I wonder what part Judah’s life has on all this? Judah has already lost two of his own sons (Gen. 38). Could it be that Jacob knows that Judah understands what he is going through?

Perhaps Jacob is simply desperate enough that he’s finally willing to let go of Benjamin.

:11 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.

They were going to Egypt to trade for things that they lacked in Canaan – bread.

best fruits – the present was to consist of things not found in Egypt.

honey – one commentator (Ryrie) suggests this wasn’t bee’s honey but instead a thick syrup boiled down from grape juice (sounds like grape jelly).

nuts… - In Israel you can buy these bars in the open air markets made of honey and nuts – delicious!

:12 "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.

double money

:13 "Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man.

:14 "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!"

God Almighty

It seems that Jacob has finally come to the point that if he has to suffer the loss of Benjamin he’s willing to do it.

:15 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.

:16-34 At Joseph’s house

:16 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."

:17 Then the man did as Joseph ordered, and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.

:18 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."

:19 When they drew near to the steward of Joseph's house, they talked with him at the door of the house,

:20 and said, "O sir, we indeed came down the first time to buy food;

:21 "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.

:22 "And we have brought down other money in our hands to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks."

:23 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.

I imagine that the brothers must have been freaking out by this time. Should they be afraid or happy?

:24 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.

:25 Then they made the present ready for Joseph's coming at noon, for they heard that they would eat bread there.

:26 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.

:27 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?"

:28 And they answered, "Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive." And they bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves.

:29 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."

It’s been 22 years since Joseph has seen his little brother. Benjamin would have been a young boy the last time Joseph saw him.

:30 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.

I get the feeling that Joseph is quite an emotional fellow. He hasn’t allowed his heart to be hardened over the years. He takes a quick break to re-gather his composure.

:31 Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself, and said, "Serve the bread."

:32 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.

:33 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.

Joseph’s brothers are surprised that someone has seated them according to their age. This is quite an amazing coincidence since the older ten of them were all within six years of age of each other. The odds would be astronomical of someone seating them this way by coincidence.

:34 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.

It seems that Joseph is putting one more test in front of the brothers to see if they were resentful of Benjamin being showed favor. Joseph had seen their resentment when he was shown favor by his father.

Genesis 44

:1-17 The silver cup

:1 And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, "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.

:2 "Also put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his grain money." So he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.

:3 As soon as the morning dawned, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys.

:4 When they had gone out of the city, and were not yet far off, Joseph said to his steward, "Get up, follow the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, 'Why have you repaid evil for good?

:5 'Is not this the one from which my lord drinks, and with which he indeed practices divination? You have done evil in so doing.'"

divination – the practice of looking at natural things around you and finding “signs” from God in them. It could be reading tea leaves, seeing a special bird flying over head, or looking at the liver of a sacrificial animal. The modern “Ouija Board” and “Tarot Cards” fall into this category.

With a “divining cup”, the cups were often engraved or painted with magical inscriptions and then filled with pure water. The “diviner” would do things like looking at the water’s reflection, count the bubbles in the water, pour hot wax into the water, or even stare at the water until he went into a trance.

It is a practice forbidden by God.

(Lev 19:26 NKJV) … nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying.

Christians should have nothing to do with these kinds of practices. God wants us to learn to look to Him for direction, not things like astrology or fortune tellers.

It’s likely that Joseph didn’t actually practice divination. The point was to make this cup out to be something worthy of an extra harsh penalty if it was stolen.

:6 So he overtook them, and he spoke to them these same words.

:7 And they said to him, "Why does my lord say these words? Far be it from us that your servants should do such a thing.

:8 "Look, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money which we found in the mouth of our sacks. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord's house?

:9 "With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my lord's slaves."

:10 And he said, "Now also let it be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, and you shall be blameless."

:11 Then each man speedily let down his sack to the ground, and each opened his sack.

:12 So he searched. He began with the oldest and left off with the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.

You have to laugh at the order the servant is searching in. Since he knows what sack the cup is in, he’s adding drama to open Benjamin’s sack last.

:13 Then they tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey and returned to the city.

:14 So Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, and he was still there; and they fell before him on the ground.

:15 And Joseph said to them, "What deed is this you have done? Did you not know that such a man as I can certainly practice divination?"

:16 Then Judah said, "What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; here we are, my lord's slaves, both we and he also with whom the cup was found."

God has found out the iniquity – they might be talking about Benjamin having the cup, but they’re probably actually thinking about how they betrayed their brother Joseph twenty years earlier. The Bible says:

(Num 32:23 NKJV) …be sure your sin will find you out.

:17 But he said, "Far be it from me that I should do so; the man in whose hand the cup was found, he shall be my slave. And as for you, go up in peace to your father."

It could be that this is Joseph’s way of making sure his brother is safe, by arresting him.

It could be one more test. Joseph gives them a chance to get rid of Benjamin like they got rid of him.

:18-34 Judah steps up

:18 Then Judah came near to him and said: "O my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord's hearing, and do not let your anger burn against your servant; for you are even like Pharaoh.

: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 child of his old age, who is young; 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 "And we said to my lord, 'The lad cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.'

:23 "But you said to your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall see my face no more.'

:24 "So it was, when we went up to your servant my father, that we told him the words of my lord.

:25 "And our father said, 'Go back and buy us a little food.'

:26 "But we said, 'We cannot go down; if our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down; for we may not 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 'and the one went out from me, and I said, "Surely he is torn to pieces"; and I have not seen him since.

:29 'But if you take this one also from me, and calamity befalls him, you shall bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.'

:30 "Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up in the lad's life,

:31 "it will happen, when he sees that the lad is not with us, that he will die. So your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father with sorrow to the grave.

:32 "For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, 'If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father forever.'

Judah had promised Jacob that he would watch out for Benjamin.

:33 "Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers.

:34 "For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me, lest perhaps I see the evil that would come upon my father?"

Judah is pleading with the ruler of the land to be allowed to take the place of his younger brother in prison.

This all sounds very much like Jesus, a descendant of Judah.

Lesson

The Substitute

He intercedes for us.

Just as Judah was pleading with the mighty ruler for his brother’s safety, Jesus intercedes for us.

(Heb 7:25 NKJV) Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

I had a strange experience last week. I got a call from a fellow in Florida. He said that during his prayer time the Lord put my name on his heart. He said he went on the Calvary Chapel website and looked me up and then called to tell me that he was praying for me. I still don’t quite know what to think of it all. It’s not like I have a name that a lot of people know. But it reminded me that there is someone who knows my name. And He, Jesus, is praying for me.

He took our place.

Jesus didn’t just offer like Judah did, He actually took our place on the cross. He died in our place.

You and I were in a situation far more serious than Benjamin was. Benjamin was in pretend trouble. You and I are in serious trouble.

The judgment we face is due to the things we are guilty of, the sins we’ve committed, the offenses we’ve committed against God.

The Bible says that the penalty for our sin was death.

And Jesus took our place. He died in our place. The Bible says,

(Rom 5:8 NKJV) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

You need Jesus.

This is why you need Jesus. God doesn’t want you to pay for your own sins. God offers to pay for your sins, but you must be willing to receive this gift of forgiveness.

Genesis 45

:1-15 Joseph reveals himself

:1 Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, "Make everyone go out from me!" So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers.

Joseph is done with all of his testing of his brothers. He’s heard enough.

:2 And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it.

Joseph is no longer going to be speaking through an interpreter. Instead of speaking Egyptian, they will hear him speaking Hebrew for the first time. The first words they hear this exalted Egyptian ruler speak are …

:3 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph; does my father still live?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence.

dismayed – bahal – to be disturbed, terrified, anxious

We’ve already seen how the brothers have been carrying a lot of guilt over how they had treated Joseph (Gen. 42:21).

Now they find out that this brother that they had sold into slavery was the most powerful man in the world.

We often see a parallel in Joseph of the life of Jesus.

Jesus took on human flesh and humbled Himself as a servant just as Joseph became a slave. Jesus suffered and died unjustly just as Joseph was put in prison for something he didn’t do. Jesus was exalted to the right hand of God just as Joseph became the right hand of Pharaoh. Just as Joseph one day revealed himself to his brothers, Jesus too will come again and show Himself to His nation.

(Zec 12:10 NKJV) "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

:4 And Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come near to me." So they came near. Then he said: "I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.

:5 "But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.

:6 "For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.

:7 "And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

:8 "So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

:9 "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.

I imagine the brothers aren’t looking forward to telling their father that Joseph was still alive and how he wound up in Egypt.

:10 "You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children's children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have.

Goshen – The eastern portion of the Nile Delta, a fertile area, a good place to live.

:11 "There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine."'

:12 "And behold, your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my mouth that speaks to you.

:13 "So you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen; and you shall hurry and bring my father down here."

:14 Then he fell on his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck.

:15 Moreover he kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him.