January 28, 2024
Reading: Genesis 43
Focus: Genesis 43:8-9 – Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die. I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life.”
Father God, Thank You for Your presence in our lives. Help us to listen for Your voice. Help us to be aware that You speak to us in many ways. In Jesus Name, Amen.
The famine is getting worse, in Egypt and surrounding lands. Soon the food purchased on the first trip to Egypt is running low and to survive, the sons of Israel must go back to purchase more food. Jacob said that they had to go back to Egypt, BUT the brothers dared not go back without Benjamin. The ruler had told them that they would not see his face if he was not with them. Jacob was not about to let his youngest son, by his beloved Rachel, out of his sight. Note in the reading that the eldest son was not the one who spoke with their father about this requirement to purchase food again from Egypt. Please notice that it is Judah who now steps forward as the leader of the brothers.
If you will remember, Reuben forfeited his rights as first-born when he slept with his father’s concubine. The next two eldest, Simeon and Levi, had blood on their hands for the massacre at Shechem. So Judah stepped forward. He stood before his father and offered to stand as security for his brother, that he will bear the blame forever if he fails. Judah knew the risks and willing accepted them. Judah reminded Jacob that the ruler would not accept that they were not spies unless they did as he commanded. Bring your youngest brother.
Jacob was upset that the brothers had given so much information to this ruler. But what else could they have done. They were accused of being spies. No doubt they were thoroughly interrogated. Not tortured but definitely questioned intently. What they had not known was that Joseph knew who they were. His questions were to learn of his father’s fate and whether they had done away with Benjamin as they had with him. Joseph had wanted to know if they had changed or if they were still the same rotten brothers he knew.
So, finally, Jacob relented and was reluctantly willing to let Benjamin go with the brothers to buy food in Egypt. I can just hear Benjamin. “YES!!” with a serious fist pump or two. At last, he was going to be able to act like an adult and not continue to be smothered by his father’s possessiveness. Remember that Benjamin was not a little boy here. He was probably in his late twenties to early thirties and may have had a family of his own. Joseph had been in Egypt for at about 27-28 years by this time. But Jacob, while not wanting this situation, was still a shrewd businessman. He sent gifts to the ruler. Balm and myrrh, honey and spices, pistachios and almonds, the best of the products their land could still produce. He insisted that they take double the amount of silver to return what had been sent back from Egypt. Perhaps in error. Honesty was part of man’s reputation. And to profit by another’s error is not honesty no matter whether anyone would know or not. Jacob wasn’t taking any chances. Even so, he was fatalistic. If he was to be bereaved, then he would be bereaved.
As one on whose head rested the hand of God, Jacob had very little faith in what God could do. Look back, God prospered him when he worked for Laban. He was known as wealthy man. He had 12 sons, although thinking one of them was dead. He was the Keeper of the Covenant of Abraham. From his sons would come the Messiah but it was not yet know just which son it would be at that point. Jacob experienced all of this and yet, he still could not trust God for the protection of his youngest son.
And so, off they went again, taking all that Jacob had commanded that they take to this ruler who now knew way too much about them and their family. They were rather nervous. Would they be accused as spies again or would they now be accused of being thieves as well? They presented themselves to Joseph again. Joseph saw that Benjamin was with them this time. He ordered that they be taken to his house and to prepare a meal for them. They apparently were not told why or where they were being taken. They assumed that it was because of the silver that had been put into their grain on the first trip. Their guilt of their past deed had them imagining all sorts of scenarios. Being attacked, and turned over as slaves was probably just one of many that came to mind.
They approached Joseph’s steward and told them of the silver they had found. Insisting that they had brought it back to repay it. That they had no intention of keeping it. It was the same amount that they had found. Trying to prove that they were honest men, not thieves. What they did not know was that the steward knew about the silver and just how it had found its way into their sacks. The steward tried to calm them. He told them that he had received the silver and that their God, the God of their father gave them the treasure in their sacks. I wonder what they thought of that statement, or did it just pass right over their heads? Then Simeon was brought to them.
They expected to be attacked but they were treated as honored guests. They were given what they needed to refresh themselves and food for their donkeys. Then, while they waited for the ruler to appear, they prepared the gifts they had brought for him. When Joseph arrived, they presented their gifts. They bowed down to the ground. The dreams again proved true. Joseph asks after his father. They replied that he was well and prostrated themselves to Joseph. They present Benjamin to him. This just about gives away the game. Emotion flooded Joseph. He blessed Benjamin and had to leave the room before giving away the game. He found a place to cry. Think about it, what would you do if you finally see a dearly loved relative after 23 years apart and you don’t want anyone to know how it affected you? It took some time, but Joseph pulled himself together and returned, ordering that the food be served.
I’m sure you are wondering why Joseph sat a table separated from his brothers. Here is one possible theory and there are many of those. At that time, Egypt was one of the most racially segregated nations in the world. Eating anything imported was not acceptable practice. Eating with anyone or anything that was not Egyptian was just not done. The brothers may have understood this separation but at the same time, they had no idea that Joseph was not Egyptian. That being said, Joseph probably did not eat with other Egyptians either. He was ‘foreign’ despite his being the second most powerful man in Egypt. However, this separation is a reflection of the need that the Hebrews be a separate people. Not marrying into other cultures or being absorbed by other nations. The need for purity of the Israelites was paramount. They were, and still are, God’s chosen people. The events here are the prologue to over 400 years of the nation’s genetic purity.
Bringing the Israelites to Egypt was God’s way of keeping them ‘racially’ pure. It was prophesied to Abraham that his descendants would live in another land for 400 years. The life of Joseph, with all of its ups and downs, was God’s method of bringing all about. But along with the fact that they would live in a land that was not their own, oppressed by the rulers, they would leave that land with abundant riches. God often asks or allows us to live in conditions or places that seem the worst, but at the end of it all, whether here or in heaven, we will be blessed.
We see two pictures of Jesus in this passage. First, Judah. Judah, in keeping with his descendant, Jesus, brought about the ‘freedom’ of his brother. Just as Jesus brought us freedom from sin and death. Then, Joseph. Joseph fed his brothers. Jesus fed the multitudes, not only with food, but also with the Word of God.
Get the picture?
Food for Thought
- Why do you think Jacob was so possessive of Benjamin?
- Do you see that as a lack of faith? Why or why not?
- Do you think that Judah saw himself as the one who eventually would receive the birthright? Why or why not?
- Why do you think Joseph continued to hide his identity from his brother in this chapter?
- Could you be as forgiving as Joseph? Why or why not?
