GENESIS 42 AWAKE… ARISE! In the on-going history of Joseph, and the many types and fore-shadows of Christ we see in the narrative of his life, this chapter is like a prophetic view of the time when the risen Lord Jesus Christ will be seated on the throne of David and rule as the King of kings. The nation of Israel that had rejected our Lord Jesus as a people, will be brought to face Him and will realize that Jesus, who they rejected, is the true Messiah. Kingdom blessing will follow as God’s chosen people, will be blessed and they will see the whole world blessed by the One who was promised to the patriarchs in ancient times, who would bring blessing to all the nations of the world.
For our learning, it is a good thing to ask ourselves, “When do we learn important lessons best? In the good times or in the bad?” Most of us will say we learn best when the problems of life are faced personally and we realize something has to be done about the present situation in which we are found. We can easily get used to taking blessings from God for granted when times are good. Our minds and hearts become gradually hardened by thinking this is the way things should be and I deserve all of this, and we accept all God gives as if it is our right. Really, we do not deserve the least of God’s mercies.
We likely won’t realize at first what is happening to us. We can get so used to prosperity and ease, that we think that is normal. Then tragedy comes, or circumstances change our situation or status entirely from what we had become used to. This is one of the ways God uses to soften hard hearts and makes us realize what we really need, we cannot supply. In times of need and sorrow, the God of all grace draws near to us. He doesn’t refuse to help us even through we have been in a measure, distanced from Him, or at least lost the joy of intimacy with our Lord. We experience closeness when we come to Him with gratitude, for the new life He has given us, and the communion we have with Him when we allow no barriers or separations.
For twenty years Joseph’s brothers had lived prosperous, and likely comparatively easy, lives with plentiful blessings from God around them. Joseph was probably only thought of by them occasionally and not with sorrow. What he would have had, as the “coat of many colors” implied, would someday be passed on to one of them was likely in their dark minds – and then God stepped in!
Divine authority has the power to stop the whole world from spinning, let alone overcome human complacency in a very short time. When God’s people forget who He really is and who they really are, they become like the world around. Then when hardships and difficulties arise, we are so out of touch with God, the inclination is to turn to the ways of the world for solutions. The problem is those answers don’t even deal with the source of the problem, nor can they. Sin has wages that must be paid.
Jacob at least, had his senses about him and took the place of authority, even though he was an old man. In essence he told his sons, “Get up and do something! Don’t just sit there wondering where we are going to get food! There’s grain in Egypt! Go there and buy us some food!”
When we are deceived into thinking success and plenty will always be here, complacency soon becomes apathy. We don’t want anything to disturb our peace so we look for someone to do something for us. People know how to complain about the state of affairs and the perceived injustice that we think is being done to us. “Why doesn’t someone do something about all of this,” is a common complaint. It is not right for us to expect others to do for us that which we can do for ourselves. Planning and waiting have to give way to waking up out of an apathetic stupor, and rising up to take action and deal with the problems we face.
The Journey, v.1-5. When Jacob knew there was “corn in Egypt,” and he informed his adult sons of that fact, he was not likely telling them what they did not know. The thought of going to Egypt would have brought guilt to their consciences as they were reminded of having sold Joseph as a slave to Egypt. “Memory like an adder stinging, all the guilty past upbringing…” What they had wanted to forget, and had hoped had come to an end, still was there. They had deliberately sold Joseph for twenty pieces of silver. Trying to avoid taking action, they had hesitated, were plagued with indecision and perplexed as to how to meet the obvious need of their families. Jacob’s demand made those ten men go down to Egypt and they were forced to recall events of their own making twenty years earlier. They didn’t know what was before them, and it was good they didn’t, or they would have probably turned around rather than face what was ahead of them.
It is a mercy of God that we don’t know what the future holds for us here. As believers in Christ, we can look beyond the grave to our eternal future, but God graciously keeps hidden from us what tomorrow, next week, or next year may hold. One step at a time is enough for us to take, even though we do make plans and qualify them by saying, “The Lord willing we shall do this or that.” During the course of daily living, God gives us the time we need to learn the spiritual meaning of events when we are exercised about it, and also gives a glimpse of the significance of each event. Looking back at what we have experienced in trials, we will see the value of the “famine” in light of the big picture as God sees it.
The Meeting, v.6-25. When Joseph saw his brothers, he knew them but they didn’t recognize him. He would have appeared as a strong, grown man in the prime of life. He would have been smooth shaven like was the common practice of Egyptian men. He was also a man of great authority over the affairs of a great country. Joseph spoke in the Egyptian language, dressed like an Egyptian man of authority, and instead of being a seventeen-year-old boy, he was a thirty-seven or thirty-eight-year-old man.
Some things are more important than those which are natural and normal to us. To bring about the restoration of soul that is needed in those who have become used to sin, is not accomplished in a short time. Reality takes a while to set in, and it takes a long time to honestly face reality. Character can and should be tested, to determine if change for the better has actually taken place, or if apparent humility and respect is a means to get what is wanted.
Joseph wasn’t “getting back” at his brothers by remaining unknown to them. He was following the tried and proven principles for discerning true restoration. He wanted to restore their souls, not exalt himself, and he set about to do this for their own sake. If he had revealed himself to them right away, he would have acted in weakness and the outcome would have been far different than the blessing God wanted to give. In a way, he was “washing their feet,” like our Lord did for His disciples.
People defiled by the world, guilty in their hearts, with a bad conscience; need to find a place of cleansing, healing and restoration, even though they may not know it. The restoring of one’s soul is usually a humbling and painful process. The conscience has to be dealt with and stirred into action. Personal feelings can melt and be tender for a short time unless it is motivated by true love. True love is firm and serves with patience, until the ground that has hardened the heart has been softened by rain from heaven and disturbed by events that happen around us.
An awakened conscience is like a tree shaken by a strong wind whose leaves are moved by the force of the wind and the sound of change is heard. Kindness and roughness go together when an alarm needs to be sounded. When there is danger, or change must be made, it is a favor when the sleep of worldliness is disturbed and the need of immediate change makes one arise and take action.
Joseph’s testing time of his brothers, didn’t go right at the problem face on, but he took his time and went the long way around to get to the desired result in the shortest possible way. The charge he made to them of being spies, was a way to get them to honestly own up to who they were before the governor of a nation. There could no equivocating. Their earnest answer was quite significant. “Twelve brothers” were in the family circle, with one young one home and one considered dead. They didn’t lie or deceive on that point.
In spite of what Joseph knew to be true, he let them understand he was not yet ready to take their word as true about everything. He demanded proof of their sincerity and truthfulness. To enforce his word, he had them all put in prison for three days where they would consider who they were, what they were like before others as well as themselves, why they were there and how to respond to convince the governor of them telling the truth. Joseph had been in prison himself, so he knew what it was like to not be able to do or say what you want. He had been tried and proven himself, and wanted his brothers to know what deception would bring.
When he had them brought out of prison after three days, he made a deliberate statement to them that he knew would mean a lot, so they would face who they really were. “I fear God!” would have put the fear of God into them who had ignored divine authority over their lives. That plain statement and a different proposal that gave a glimmer of hope to them, showed that grace was being shown in spite of who they were. Grace as well as tough love, made them open their mouths to express what their consciences had been hiding. Joseph knew what they were saying when they admitted to their guilt, even though it was only to themselves. That was a first step.
Our consciences move us to admit to guilt when sin is brought before us, but to admit to guilt does not indicate a change of mind and heart. True repentance does start in the conscience when we admit to our own guilt. Memory also plays a part in repentance as we recall the sins we committed and the consequences of sin, plus the anguish it can bring to others beside ourselves. It is then we begin to reason as to what is happening to us and why. But even then, restoration does not necessarily take place.
A change had taken place in them, but Reuben still tried to justify himself before them even though he had done nothing. Of a positive note was the fact that they acknowledged Joseph as their “brother.” When he was a young boy, they spoke of him disparagingly as the “dreamer.” They finally recognized their own position and condition, and Joseph heard that and knew they had been awakened, so he wept. Joseph’s true feelings toward his brothers was also seen in giving them back their money, and each one was treated equally. Whether it was another test is not made plain, but the fact that he gave them back what was theirs was a marked difference from what they did when they sold him for twenty pieces of silver.
Injustice will be shown up for what it is sometime. Most of us have experienced it in one way or another, but feeling slighted does not give us the right to be spiteful toward those who are unfair or unjust. We can learn from Joseph that attacks against our character, against false charges and being overlooked and forgotten, does not give us the right to try and get vengeance or right the wrongs. To forgive, is what our Lord Jesus told us to do, even if time after time we are sinned against.
The Return, v.26-38. Finally, after God being missing from their lives as far as the written record is concerned; when those men found the money in each of their sacks, they admitted they were far from God, and were forced to face the fact that God had found them out. Conscience had done its work, but the money in their sacks took them way beyond their pricks of conscience, to where their lives were in danger, and they knew that. They had been brought to face the fact that God knew them and was against them. They were “enemies of God by wicked works.” That left them no place to escape the divine dealing of God. It is no different for us. The justice and holiness of God leaves us no place to hide from Him.
By nature, our moral character is such that we do not want to think of God, or face Him, or even be willing to openly and verbally acknowledge Him as Lord. When emergency situations arise, it is not uncommon for even total unbelievers to call on God to help them. It is then people are inclined to make resolutions to change their behavior and try to become more righteous. But without being born again and having a new nature imparted to us, such resolve gradually fades away.
Joseph’s brothers had fear instilled in them by his attitude toward them, and even more so by them thinking his generosity in returning their money, was a way to accuse them of stealing. Even when they got to Jacob and told them what happened, they did not lie to him this time like they did twenty years earlier. Jacob himself had lost any vital kind of faith and responded with fatalism. He was not acting as Israel, but still the old Jacob. It never entered his mind that God was working for him directly. Like Jacob, we can be short-sighted when we look at events through the mindset of a person of the world, rather than a believer who has learned to trust in our unfailing God.
Reuben made a noble offer when he offered his two sons if Benjamin was not brought back after the next journey to Egypt. But Jacob refused to allow Benjamin to go even though it was in the best interests of the whole family and all associated with it. His only interest was in himself. It is possible for us to hinder the work of God and the spiritual advancement of believers if we are self-centered and ignore the fact that God’s love and grace have been shown to us time and again.
God’s divine purposes are all in the plans he has for our lives. Each and every event He allows, has a reason that is known to Him. We must learn to trust Him and not doubt nor fail in our responsibilities.
Rather than acting in faith, if we have concentrated our efforts on methods that we think will work best for us, or principles and laws of men that we hold on to, we simply must “Let go and let God” do what is His will through us.
When we respond to God’s love with gratitude and thanksgiving, we will find that human love and affection is made stronger. Patience, persistence and personal sacrifice for the benefit of others, will be forthcoming. Then the power of a guilty conscience will bring a person to where they are brought to true repentance. Remorse and sorrow can change a person’s view of the past, but that doesn’t really mean anything if the same sin is repeated.
Joseph had to know that the minds of his brothers were not only changed by their sense of guilt for what they had done in the past, but also there was an honest resolve to do what was right in the future. Repentance is a change of mind in regard to the past, and it is also a change of will in regard to the future.
Human reasoning can bring serious mistakes when we only look at events, people, calamities and failures. When we are at an end of ourselves, we are more than willing to look up to God and think beyond the present circumstances, to the One who holds everything in his mighty hand of power. When we put our faith in the Lord, and see His goodness and mercy that has supplied us with all we need, we will not find ourselves complaining about not getting what we want. He is faithful to us and it is only right that we commit our way to Him to direct our path in life and use the events in life to bring the results He wants according to His sovereign will.
GENESIS 43-44 THE SECOND JOURNEY When a person has chosen to go away from his own people like Judah when he moved away from his family, how are we to act toward them when they return? We don’t know what happened when Judah came back after having spent time with his friend Hirah, the Adulamite, but it seems like he returned with a greater appreciation for his father and family then when he left. As this whole story develops, Judah steps up and begins to take family leadership by showing initiative and a change of attitude. Reuben was weak and even though he was the oldest son, he did not have leadership qualities.
There are those who for some reason decide they want a more comfortable, friendly and less restrictive fellowship, who leave and go where they can more or less do what they want. Usually, they want to go to a place where there are a lot more people and where there is no accountability. They can attend the religious gathering when they want to and no one knows whether they are there or not. If they want to go to the beach or attend a ballgame instead of meeting with the church, no one will ask where they were or why they were not at the meetings. Their God-given gifts are unused and they can live like the unbelievers around them without any “reproach” associated with them being a Christian.
How thankful we are when occasionally someone returns to the “church-home” they left with a different attitude and a desire to please God by doing what He wants where He wants them. Some have become better witnesses for the truth then when they left. In some cases, they have been raised up by the Holy Spirit to help lead God’s people. The training time followed the time of discipline and correction.
In these two chapters there is quite a lot of detail given as the Spirit of God teaches us some principles regarding the restoration of a broken relationship within a family. To ignore the cause of division is to leave a festering sore that will likely create further problems later. With love for his brothers, Joseph patiently waited for the right time to go farther than he had on the previous journey they made to Egypt. He knew the famine would continue and that his brothers would have to come back for provisions and to get Simeon who remained in prison. He also anticipated seeing Benjamin who he insisted they bring with him when they returned.
The book of Genesis is full of teaching regarding how God looks upon people and deals with the fallen human condition. His desire always has been to have a companionship with people who would love Him and want to be with Him and share life forever with their Creator in a meaningful way. Man’s sin changed that, and so in this book God deals with our lost innocence and guilty conscience. Delegated authority of a government designed by humans without taking into account the moral depravity of each human heart, did not advance morality and peaceful living. Even when promises were made, failure was the result because of our sinful human nature. In this part of the narrative, all of human failure is evident. It is a view of the life of one family that gives us a review of the whole religious history of humanity up until this point.
Jacob was still the old schemer who was acting like his old self, by putting blame on others for not going to Egypt for more grain which was the main staple of that day. He knew his sons had told him they could not go back to Egypt without Benjamin, but he was still only thinking about himself and what he wanted. This is a common human character trait. “Me first” should not be the attitude of those who belong to God. We who know the Lord, have been given a new nature in which it is characteristic to say, “Lord, what will You have me to do?”
DIVINE DISCIPLINE The Great Need, 43:1-14. Judah by this time had become the spokesman for his brothers and the preeminent leader among them. That would remain for generations and it was through Judah that the “Lion of the Tribe of Judah” would come. Our Lord Jesus Christ would prevail over evil and defeat the power of Satan by His death on the cross. It was through the tribe of Judah, the ancestor who offered himself as a surety for his youngest brother Benjamin, the Savior would come into the world. With plainness of speech, Judah told Jacob his father they would not go to Egypt without Benjamin.
There are times when we face difficulties and pointed questions, that need pointed and straightforward answers. To equivocate only prolongs the problem. No matter what people might say or who they try to blame, wait until they have said all they wanted to complain about, and then go directly to the problem, state the facts. Deal with the problem by clearly giving the only sensible answer to the matter. The shrewd sneaky way of Jacob, didn’t intimidate Judah who knew the details of the whole matter and had made them clear to Jacob before.
Do not get belligerent when challenged, but seriously make an appeal, urge that action be taken to deal with the matter, make any promises you can honestly make to bring about the solution to the whole issue. Then stand firm with confidence that the course that needs to be taken is the right one. Jacob got beyond his self-centered emotion to the place of common sense and consented to let Benjamin go. He also knew that “a man’s gift makes room for him.” A gift shows appreciation, respect and promotes fellowship between people. A conscious awareness of “God Almighty” as the One who grants mercy, lets us see that Israel was back acting as a prince with God should.
The Unusual Reception, v.15-34. It would have given Joseph great joy to see his full brother Benjamin, now as a grown man standing before him. Rather than quickly responding as one’s emotion is inclined to do, he chose to show them hospitality at his house, even though he had to have a brief time alone to weep when he saw Benjamin. For those men to have been received at Joseph’s house, was a remarkable change from the prison house of their first journey. The fear of those older brothers is understandable as they are brought into the house, where they quickly confessed that they had found their money in their sacks.
A matter can often be quickly put to rest when we are willing to be open and honest. Equivocation and lengthy explanations often cloud an issue to the extent that all the words make a listener think maybe there is something hidden. The steward did not lie because he had the money and after, put it in their sacks. He was aware of God and His authority even though he was likely an Egyptian idolater. Added to all the uncertainties of the nine brothers was that Simeon was released from prison, and they were all seated at a special table in the order of their ages. That was obviously not a coincidence, but they had no explanation as to how it happened. No wonder they were all nervous and fearful.
When Joseph appeared, just like he had dreamed years before, his brothers all “bowed down to the earth.” When God reveals His will to us, He doesn’t always make it plain to us when it will take place. It is our responsibility to seek His will and be ready to do it at any time. It may be harder to wait until the appointed time to carry it out than to take action right away. When the time is made plain to us to act on what we know is the will of the Lord, there is no reason to wait for a more convenient time for us. Take action on God’s timing.
Joseph recognized his full brother, Benjamin as “his mother’s son.” There was a special pull at his emotions when the brother he knew as a child, was now a grown man right in front of him. Emotion cannot always be avoided, and it is not necessarily wrong. But to take action based on emotion can hinder the appropriate conclusion of a matter. Joseph dealt with his emotions in private and them went back to carry out his planned testing of their change, to see if it included a changed character as well as a changed attitude. The fears the brothers had when they were in prison and their confession previously, was in contrast with the feast and the merriment they enjoyed at Joseph’s house. How confusing that must have been!
Some things we learn in times of stress and fear, and then when the stress is gone, and pleasure and satisfaction come as a result of a problem being solved, if the lessons was not really learned, we will go back to being the same as before. Wisdom learns the lessons, and benefits from problems and difficulties. Self-centeredness forgets the lessons when the tensions are gone and a person whose character has not changed reverts to the same condition as before. How can we know the difference between real change and temporary conversion?
The Testing Plan, 44:1-17. The enjoyable meal was over, the brothers had a night’s rest. Their sacks we filled with grain and by daybreak they were on their way out of town likely giving each other “high fives,” as they left for home. They were all there including Simeon and Benjamin. What a relief and homecoming that would be!
Joseph’s God-given wisdom went a step further then putting their money back in their grain sacks. When Joseph’s cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. Their hearts must have almost stopped. He could be killed for that, and they had even offered that response themselves. Until a person focuses on their own sin and with their own lips admits their own guilt before God, changes are only superficial. When fear is because of what is around us, then if we are removed from that which causes fear, we are no longer afraid. When there is fear in us because we know what is in us, that fear will never leave until it is faced, repented of, dealt with in a just way and the cause is removed.
The protests of innocence were so ready, that the brothers were willing to have one of them die. We can imagine what came over them all when the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. They had condemned him to die themselves, just like they had done to Joseph his brother, over twenty years before. All the outward show, fear, professed honesty and expressions of guilt faded as they were exposed for who they really were.
Falling down in the agony of honest guilt and fear, they finally confessed through Judah the spokesman, “God has found out the iniquity of your servants.” They were all ready to go into slavery because of their guilt. Joseph knew that self-pity was not far enough to bring the needed change, He would have nothing to do with their proposal that they would all become his slaves. Perhaps he just wanted to keep Benjamin in Egypt with him for a time. He may have needed to see if they were willing to sacrifice Benjamin the way they had him years before.
The True Intercession, v.18-34. A great change had happened to Judah. Over twenty years before he had been the one to suggest they sell Joseph to the Midianites. Then he lied to his father about what had happened. Now, he offered to become a slave in order to free Benjamin and to spare his father the sorrow of losing the child of his old age. With simplicity, Judah told the whole story of his father, his family, the loss of Joseph and the grief that would come to Jacob if Benjamin didn’t return. He was prepared to sacrifice himself for Benjamin.
The whole story Judah told, calls to our attention that there was a change of character in Judah and perhaps to a degree in his brothers. They had shortly before said the guilty person would be killed on the spot to clear the rest, but now they were all conscious of their own guilt. They were united, docile and ready for whatever God would do. Divine discipline does have to run its course until the desired result is reached.
We are able to recover and gain a victory through faith like happened to Jacob, even after our doubts and fears have us looking on the dark side of things. The power of fear can claim our whole attention when we don’t know what is ahead and also when things don’t turn out the way we had hoped. Fear can cause us to despair, or it can drive us to God in faith. The fear of the Lord makes us turn away from sin and makes us to want to be true to Him.
Ongoing discipline is needed in our moral and spiritual training. The problem of sin has to be confessed and forsaken before we can worship the Father in spirit and in truth. We are able to be useful to the Lord when we are conscious of our own limitations and unworthiness of God’s mercy.
With us, like with Joseph’s brothers, it is natural for us to be tested as to our moral and spiritual condition, even when we are not aware of what is happening. An ordinary act on an ordinary day, can be a test to see whether we are watchful and aware of potential danger like the three hundred men with Gideon. By being consistent before our family or faithful in our duties as an employee, is a test of which we might not be aware. Even giving thanks for our food when we are alone is a test as to the reality of our Christian character. A child of God is always on duty and can be an unconscious influence for good and for God.
There is a danger if we misunderstand what God is doing with us. We need to commit ourselves each day to walk in the light so we can be “partakers” of the holiness of our Lord. Chastisement is not always punishment. Discipline is not always punitive but is for our learning. The Lord chastens who He loves. Fellowship with Him makes us understand the difficulties and trials of life through which we pass. The conditions that bring spiritual blessings will begin with repentance for sin. When that barrier is removed, faith has a fertile field in which to grow. Character is deepened when we face the fact that God is working in us, training us and transforming us into the person He wants. Spiritual character that doesn’t shrink from hardship and discipline, is one in which grace and wisdom is able to be shown. Then when a person praises God and worships Him, it is with a full heart and not a form or sense of holding anything back from Him.