Imagine that you haven’t seen your family for a long time. You think you will never see them again. And then, one day, they just suddenly turn up unexpectedly, in a place where you would never expect to see them. That is what happened to Joseph in today’s passage. Joseph’s brothers and his father were still living in Canaan. Just like in Egypt, the famine had gotten very bad in Canaan and food was scarce. But Joseph was living a prosperous, luxurious life in Egypt and had even started a family. He was probably prepared to spend the rest of his life there.
In verses 1-2, Jacob called his sons together. “Why are you sitting around here when there is food in Egypt? Go and buy us some.” Jacob sends his sons to buy food from Joseph, not knowing that it is their brother. Verses 3-5 show ten brothers heading off to Egypt. Joseph was already there and Jacob would not allow Benjamin to go. That meant that Judah must have been with them to make ten. Remember a few lessons ago, Judah could not bear his father’s sadness over Joseph being gone and the guilt made him move away. He was back with the family now and went with his brothers to Egypt.
Jacob had not learned his lesson about favoritism. He was still favoring the sons of Rachel, the woman that he loved. He believed Joseph to already be dead, and he did not want any harm to come to Rachel’s other son, so he kept Benjamin at home to keep him safe. Can you imagine what feelings this may have raised among his other sons? Joseph had been in Egypt for more than 13 years by now so Benjamin would have been at least in his late teens. He was no longer a child.
We see in verse 6 that Joseph had become governor of the land so, when his brothers arrived, they bowed down before him. How does this compare to Joseph’s dream in Gen 37:6-7? God’s revelation to Joseph had come true. Verse 7 tells us that while Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. Remember from a previous lesson, Joseph had shaved his beard and was wearing Egyptian clothes. And now, it tells us that he pretended to be a stranger. We even know, from verse 23, that he was using an interpreter. He did not want them to know who he was. The Bible says he spoke harshly to them.
Read verses 8-11. Joseph not only recognized them, but the Bible tells us that he was remembering the dreams that he had about them and he accused his brothers of being spies come to see where the land was unprotected. Odd thing here about the word ‘unprotected’. The Hebrew word which is translated here as ‘unprotected’ in some translations can also be translated as ‘naked’ as it is in the KJV. This is an interesting play on words. His brothers, when they sold him into slavery, had taken his robe, leaving him undressed, and now he is accusing them of looking for where the land had been left naked. This was probably not an accidental choice of words on his part. What must he have thought when the brothers claimed to be honest men!?!
Read verses 12-13. Joseph called them spies once more. How did they answer him? Were they honest men? Joseph still did not reveal who he was or call them on this lie.
Read verses 14-17. Joesph called them spies for a third time. He devised a test. This test was not to see whether they were spies… he knew they were not. He was missing his younger brother and wanted to see him again. He had come up with a plan to get them to bring Benjamin to Egypt where he could see him. He told the brothers that they would all be kept in prison while only one of them could go and bring back the younger brother they had spoken about to prove their story. Then he had them all put into prison for 3 days.
In verses 18-20, Joseph returned to the prison after the 3 days. He has now changed the plan. Instead of one returning home to get Benjamin and the rest of them remaining in prison, now only one would remain in prison and the rest of them would return home to get Benjamin. Joseph was testing them to see whether they had changed. They had the opportunity to run and abandon one man in prison to save themselves. Would they do it? Would they let their brother die? He may also have wanted to see whether they were treating Rachel’s other son any better than they had treated him.
Why did Joseph tell them he had changed the plan? He said, “For I fear God.” Joseph knew that it is not a man’s place to take vengeance against those who have wronged us. We must leave that to God (Rom 12:17-21). How easy would it have been, at this point, for Joseph to have gotten even with his brothers for what they had done to him? He had spent 13 years in slavery and prison, and now, here they were, for him to do with as he pleased. But Joseph knew that was not God’s will. How often are we tempted to do just that?
We immediately see remorse, in verses 21-22, when Reuben reminds his brothers about the day they sold Joseph to the slave traders. It is apparent that he believes God is punishing them now for what they did back then. The Bible teaches that we get what we have coming, for sure (Gal 6:7-8). Do you think God was paying them back now for what they did to Joseph?
Verses 23-24 tell us that, at this point, the brothers didn’t know that Joseph could understand what they were saying. They had been talking right in front of him, because he was using an interpreter, and their words made him turn away weeping. What emotions do you think must have been going through his heart to hear his brothers talking about the possibility that they were being punished by God for what they had done to him? Then, Joseph personally selected Simeon, had him tied up before them, and had him put back into prison.
Read verses 25-26. What three specific directions did Joseph give his people for his brothers? These things were done per Joseph’s instructions and the brothers loaded up their donkeys and left Egypt for home. But verses 27-28 tell us that when they stopped for the night, they found that the money they had paid for their grain was in their sacks. Once again, they believed that God was punishing them. Would the Egyptians come after them to arrest them? At the very least, they would not be able to go back again to buy more grain and collect their brother because of this.
Read verses 29-34. In these verses, the brothers told their father, Jacob, everything that had happened while they were in Egypt, including the part where they had been told to bring their youngest brother, Benjamin, back to Egypt with them. In verses 35-36, Jacob lamented his bad fortune and claimed that everything seemed to be against him. Joseph and Simeon were gone and now they were wanting to take Benjamin. Of course, we were told that he was acting out of being frightened when he saw the money in the sacks. They were all afraid of what would happen should they return to Egypt, especially if they brought Benjamin with them.
Reuben, the firstborn, then stepped up to take responsibility for his brother, going so far as to pledge the lives of his own two sons. Perhaps he was still harboring guilt at letting things happen to Joseph as they did. He promised Jacob that he would bring the boy back safely. It had to be done. The boy had to go. There was no other way to get Simeon back, but still Jacob refused to let Benjamin go to Egypt. His brother was already gone and Jacob could not bear to part with Benjamin. Can you imagine?
Responding to God: Praise God for the plans He has in place to provide all of our needs. Thank Him for His provision. Thank Him for all those whom you love and He has allowed you to see again and for those you still long to see. Pray that He will give you a longing to see Jesus. Ask His forgiveness for those times when you have sought to get even with others and ask His help in finding forgiveness. Pray for restored relationships within your family.
Further Research: Read Psalm 25.
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