Genesis 42:1-38

February 26, 2014 Pharaohs dreams came true and seven years of plenty were followed by seven years of terrible famine, but Joseph had prepared Egypt and they had more corn than they could even measure. But the whole middle-eastern world, including Josephs brothers, suffered and they began to turn to Egypt for help and this is where we continue our story now. Before we start I want to remind you of Josephs dreams. God had showed him that one day his brothers would bow before him. Joseph told them about the dreams and they hated him for it. They plotted his murder and sold him into slavery saying, Lets see what becomes of his dreams now (Gen. 37:20). Genesis 42 answers that question: what became of his dreams? More importantly, does God keep His word to Joseph? Lets look at Genesis 42:1 to find out: Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another? 2And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die. 3And Josephs ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt. 4But Benjamin, Josephs brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him. The famine has hit and theyre starting to starve. Theyre perplexed to the point that they dont know what else to do but look to the next person. Maybe eventually someone else will have an idea. And then Jacob, tired of being hungry, throws it out that Egypt is rumored to have food. If someone doesnt get down there pretty soon theyll all be dead. So he orders every son but Benjamin to go and find out. Benjamins is Josephs brother and the only remaining son of Rachel (Jacobs favorite wife). To lose Benjamin would be more than he could bear so Benjamin is to stay.
5

And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan. The Israelites werent the only ones that went to buy corn. Hebron is around 400 miles from Egypt so you know this famine is widespread and there were plenty of others.

And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: This starts to set up the tension. Joseph is the one in charge of distributing the corn. If someone wants to get some of it they have to see him first! What will happen when the brothers stand before him? and Josephs brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth. There it is. God kept His word. But the story moves right along without making a big deal of it:
7

And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food. 8And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. 9And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. 10And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. 11We are all one mans sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies. 12And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. 13And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not. 14And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies: 15Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither. 16Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies. 17And he put them all together into ward three days. At first it looks like Joseph is angry or he wants revenge, but we see from the rest of the story that hes not bitter. He knows this is all from God, and thats why it says he remembered the dreams. He sees his brother bowed down low and says to himself, This is from God. Whether he knows it now or not, hell soon realize that his arrival in Egypt was Gods work for good. But in the meantime he deals with them harshly for a very good reason: if they havent changed in all these years, hell know by the way they respond. All of them are thrown into jail and one of them will return home to fetch their youngest brother and prove they arent spies.

18 19

And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God: If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses: 20But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so. After three days he visits them and assures them that he fears God; if they can prove their innocence they will live. He originally said that all the brothers would stay and one would return, but now he flips it: one brother will stay and the others will return. He provides them a little grain and prepares to send them away.
21

And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us. 22And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required. 23And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter. 24And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes. They realize that theyre being repaid for what they had done to Joseph and start to discuss it in front of him. Hes been using a translator so they dont realize he can understand. When he hears them the grief is so overwhelming that he excuses himself long enough to weep. When he returned he selected Simeon as the one to stay behind and binds him up.
25

Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every mans money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus did he unto them. 26And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence. 27And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for, behold, it was in his sacks mouth. 28And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us? When they get to the inn on the way back home they realize that they hadn t paid for the corn. All the Egyptian has to do now is say they had stolen it and none of them would ever get out of prison. And they know that this is something that God has done to them. Its not just fate or chance; this is the reward for their evil.

29

And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying, 30The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. 31And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies: 32We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan. 33And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone: 34And bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land. 35And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every mans bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. Now its not one stolen bag of food for one man but ten bags for ten men. Theres no chance of ever recovering from this now. Simeon will no doubt die as a spy.
36

And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me. 37And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again. 38And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. Reuben offers his two sons to guarantee the safe return of Benjamin, but it s not something he can control. Not only that, but the two boys are Jacobs grandchildren as well. It cant be much comfort to lose so much and be offered more loss. So Jacob isnt willing to risk of Benjamin and the chapter ends here. Well pick back up here next time and close now with a couple thoughts: The question we asked in the beginning is whether God would be true to His word. And very early on we got an answer: yes; the brothers did bow down! And its from this point that we draw our first conclusion: God receives glory in keeping His word and showing His power over creation. They were never willing to bow to Joseph yet they did it without having to be told. They had no idea they fulfilled the very thing they hated so much. All of this was because of God. And isnt it amazing that it happened despite the passage of so much time? What if God takes forever to fulfill His promise? We can learn from this story that He does it in His own time and on time.

But the answer to the question is resolved in verse six. Why do we need the rest of the chapter? Why are there so many other details? Dont forget that Joseph isnt Gods only chosen one in this story. These are the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. He has something planned for all these men and He won t fail to keep His promise. It occurs to me that none of them seem worthy of anything more than to spend the rest of their lives in prison. They are all losers. They are would-be murderers and slave-traders. They are betrayers of the worst kind and liars too. And now God chastens them with Joseph. Through Joseph they learn to be afraid and think about what theyve done. And through Joseph they will learn that all the little gifts scattered along the way are mercy and grace. These men are bad but theyre no worse than anyone else. What differentiates them from the rest of the world is the God who calls and not their personal holiness. Even Jacob with all his doubt is a man of faith because of Christ. And so we can see all this and make a second conclusion: God is glorified in chastening His children and showing them undeserved favor. May our faith be strengthened and may God be glorified because He never leaves us nor fails us. newgracebaptistchurch.wordpress.com