The prophecy given to Abraham, that his descendants would be “strangers in a country not their own,“ is beginning to come true. (Genesis 15:13) I am sure that Jacob and his sons knew of that prophecy, but it was not foremost in their mind at the time. They may have thought that it wasn’t their generation that it applied to. A lot of us look at prophecies in scripture and think that it is not our generation that it applies to. Don’t be so certain. We do not know the future. At any rate, Jacob and all of his family, possessions, servants, flocks and herds packed up and headed to Egypt.
Month: February 2024
HEY GUYS, IT’S ME!
Joseph now knows that his brothers have changed over the years. He has seen the change in their honesty and in their concern for family. He also sees a great change in Judah. It was Judah who suggested that Joseph be sold to the slave traders back in the day. The testing was over and Joseph’s emotions were overwhelming.
TAKE ME INSTEAD
Let’s look back at what Joseph has done to his brothers and why. But let us also be aware that Joseph was being led by God. His actions were God’s tools to bring the brothers to repentance. First, he accused them of being spies and threw them in prison. I would imagine that they were interrogated, not only by Joseph but by his servants as well. I mean, if you are arrested as spies, wouldn’t you expect to be carefully questioned? Then, rather than letting them all go, he kept Simeon as prisoner and sent the rest back to Jacob. Then he sent them away with the money they had paid for the grain secreted in their grain sacks. What is he trying to find out? What is God doing in the brothers’ lives?