Bible Study on Genesis 45, verses 16 to 28, Pharaoh calls Jacob to Egypt

 

Genesis 45:16 ¶  And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, Joseph’s brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. 17  And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan; 18  And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land. 19  Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. 20  Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours. 21  And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way. 22  To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment. 23  And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way. 24  So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.

Word of Joseph’s reunion with his brothers has now gotten around Pharaoh’s court. This Pharaoh, a type of God the Father, is pleased and so are his servants, probably his ministers, that this Saviour of the Egyptian people has been blessed with this reunion. Pharaoh opens up his arms to offer a place of abode for Joseph’s family. He orders Joseph to gather up his family in Canaan and bring them back to Egypt. Everything that the Egyptians have his family will have. It is a bold promise and one reason why I think this Pharaoh and his top officials ethnically represent the Hyksos dynasty rather than native Egyptian, being more sympathetic to foreigners from Canaan. So, now, a caravan heads back to Canaan to get Jacob and the rest.

Remember how when Rebekah watered Abraham’s servant’s ten camels and I talked about typology in 24:10-28. Let me review for a moment.

“For one example of prophetic interpretation, the phrase And God said is repeated ten times in the first chapter of Genesis. Perhaps, in symbolic, typology these ten camels, brought by a type of the Holy Ghost to a type of God’s church represent God’s word in Abraham, a type of God the Father, sending the Holy Ghost to gather His church for Christ, who in type is Isaac, already sacrificed in type and resurrected in type, based on how the church responds to the words of God. What is happening here is then telling us in shadow what has happened in the spiritual world since before creation.

Ephesians 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

The part played by the bride-to-be for Isaac, the church for Christ, is laid out by the servant of Abraham, or the Holy Ghost, as one who when approached by the Holy Ghost, responds. The Holy Ghost makes the truth of the gospel brought by the Holy Ghost on ten camels, in a manner of speaking, representing what God has said, apparent and the bride-to-be responds. The bride for Isaac waters the camels as the church glorifies the gospel of Christ by its response to that gospel, confirming that the church is indeed chosen, but chosen by her response. Below, Paul expresses his wish to present the church as pure to Christ as His bride.

2Corinthians 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

And this marriage will be complete at the end of human history.

Revelation 19:9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.”

Back to this passage of Scripture, Ten represents many things, particularly God’s order and what He said, His words. Here, a type of Christ, Joseph, is sending by order of a type of God the Father, Pharaoh, provisions in numbers of ten to take back to nourish God’s people with the intent purpose of drawing them, bringing them to Egypt, which is here a type of Heaven. Heaven clearly is the end habitation of God’s people but He does not leave them without spiritual nourishment in the meantime in the period before their return. Of course, there are many much better sermons that can be taken from this one passage as with all.

Numbers like three hundred and five have great significance in the rest of the Bible and there are many opinions as to what they signify. But numerology is always a risky business and almost always a matter of opinion. You see a number and then start looking for its application in all sorts of ways, some clear from the text and others a total stretch. Be careful how you represent God and remember that Job’s three friends were criticized, not for lying in every particular as many of the things they said were true, but for misrepresenting God’s reasons and intentions, which they had no way of knowing.

Corn and bread and meat also might have a significance as three types of nourishment; one natural and raw, one prepared by human hands, and one as the general reference for food in the Bible. Could these refer to corn as God’s word in its raw form from the pages of the Bible, bread as God’s word interpreted by a human with the help of the Holy Spirit, and meat as the deepest and true doctrine that God’s word provides for us. I am sure there are other possibilities as well regarding the spiritual nourishment God’s food provides.

Job 34:3  For the ear trieth words, as the mouth tasteth meat.

Genesis 45:25 ¶  And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father, 26  And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not. 27  And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived: 28  And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.

Jacob, who is Israel, remember, is astonished and skeptical of the news that not only is Joseph alive but is governor over Egypt. You would be, too. The caravan that Joseph sent helped him believe, though. Again, we have many potential sermons from this about the joy Israel will know in the Great Tribulation to come when Christ reveals Himself in a supernatural way to them. But, read the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ and consider these typologies as you do.

Bible Study on Matthew 13, verses 53 to 58, Whence hath this man this wisdom

 

Matthew 13:53 ¶  And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence. 54  And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? 55  Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? 56  And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? 57  And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. 58  And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

 

The people that saw Jesus, the man, grow up from a child are amazed. He was not trained as a scholar nor did He sit at the feet of the learned doctors at the temple. We did not see but one time that he was said to have been asking questions. It looks like it might have been a back and forth when he was only twelve years old as the verse seems to read.

 

Luke 2:46  And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.

 

The religious elite is often amazed at the depth of understanding of someone who is not respected as a scholar but thought of as a common person.

 

Acts 4:13  Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

 

Jesus doesn’t talk like the religious elite, parroting rules and interpretations they’ve been taught.

 

John 7:15  And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?

 

Mark 6:2  And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?

 

But, His own people, the Jews, generally did not receive Him or His authority.

 

John 1:11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

 

Christ chose not to bless them with His works because they would not believe. This in no way means that He could not because of their unbelief as we’ve seen many things He has done without even the recipient understanding who He was. But an unbelieving person has no reason to receive a blessing from God and he or she may descend further and further to a point where there is no more chance for them because they will neither accept His authority or even acknowledge who He is.

 

For an instance where a person was willing to be healed, and who would be, but did not know who Jesus even was, see;

 

John 5:13  And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.

 

And see where God heals a man who is not even of the household of God, a heathen man; Naaman the Syrian in 2Kings 5.

 

Our unbelief in no way hinders God’s will if He is simply not responding to our unbelief but has some other purpose for blessing us with His mighty works. Clearly, Naaman wanted to be healed but first he demanded it of the king of Israel and then of Elisha.

Bible Study on Genesis 45, verses 1 to 15, God hath made me lord of all Egypt

 

Genesis 45:1 ¶  Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. 2  And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard. 3  And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. 4  And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. 5  Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. 6  For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. 7  And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8  So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. 9  Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not: 10  And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast: 11  And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty. 12  And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. 13  And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither. 14  And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15  Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.

Joseph could no longer contain himself and he told his Egyptian staff to leave the room. But, they could hear his emotional outcry to his brothers. It takes him a bit to convince them that he is, indeed, Joseph their brother. The brothers are dumbfounded. What they meant maliciously God turned to good. He does that with human actions on a regular basis. People throughout history have done many wicked things, often for power and profit, which God has permitted to be done but used to put forth His own purpose such as Europe conquering the world and enslaving millions by their will for power and profit yet God used their evil desire to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and today faith in Christ is growing at its greatest rate in the so-called third world with people of faith in every part of the world. This does not make slavery and conquest less evil and murderous but simply shows that, as with Joseph’s brothers actions God will not let it go without using it in some way for His purpose.

Joseph introduces himself to his brethren and could it be that the Jews in Israel in the end of history learn of who Jesus really was and is in the same time frame? Some preachers have noted that if there is a seven-year Tribulation at the end of history, of which that last 3 ½ years is called the Great Tribulation, that Jesus might make Himself known to the Jews in a special way 2 years into it. Who can say? Prophecy revealed is not set up for us to gloat over a pretense of smugly declaring how we know the future in detail but as a warning and for the following reason.

John 14:29  And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.

He has already planned for them to live in the land of Goshen, which some say was the area of northeastern Egypt where the Nile entered the Mediterranean Sea. It was lush and fertile land and a place separate from the rest of the Egypt. Of course, this is an assumption based on the conclusions of a 19^th century scholar, Henri Naville. We must be careful in accepting this. Goshen is a word transliteration from a Hebrew word which may or may not have originated from an Egyptian word. Goshen could be in northeastern Egypt or it could have been elsewhere and drawing conclusions on lack of evidence is the bane of scholarship. Let us say that it was a suitable place for herds and it is doubtful that the Pharaoh would have imagined how numerous the Hebrews would become. 

Bible Study on Matthew 13, verses 44 to 52, things new and old

 

Matthew 13:44 ¶  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. 45  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 46  Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. 47  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: 48  Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. 49  So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, 50  And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 51  Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. 52  Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

 

Jesus goes on to state that the kingdom of Heaven and of God is so important and such a great treasure that it is worth more than your material worth. It is like a businessman who identifies it as being of immense value in the same regard. It is like a net that draws many, both the wheat of the earlier parable, and those who must be cast away.

 

This then is telling us what happens as eternity begins. The fate of all is spoken of here. This is reported all through the Bible.

 

Deuteronomy 32:22  For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

 

Psalms 86:13  For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.

 

Isaiah 66:24  And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.

 

Daniel 12:2  And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

 

Matthew 3:12  Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

 

Revelation 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

 

Notice in verse 52 Jesus likens the enlightened scribe who understands the Kingdom of Heaven to a small farmer who brings forth seasoned goods and fresh produce. Here is what Matthew Henry refers to as old truths and new affections.

Bible Study on Genesis 44, verses 18 to 34, Judah pleads with Joseph

 

Genesis 44:18 ¶  Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh. 19  My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother? 20  And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him. 21  And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him. 22  And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die. 23  And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more. 24  And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. 25  And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food. 26  And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man’s face, except our youngest brother be with us. 27  And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons: 28  And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since: 29  And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. 30  Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad’s life; 31  It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave. 32  For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever. 33  Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren. 34  For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.

Judah pleads for his father, that Benjamin not be kept as a servant but that Judah take his place. He offered himself as surety for Benjamin’s safety, after all. He implores this mighty Egyptian official, whom he does not know as his brother, Joseph. Judah, who in 37:26 persuaded his brothers that, rather than kill Joseph, they should sell him to the Ishmaelites, was instrumental in Joseph having the opportunity to be the de facto ruler of Egypt’s internal policies regarding the preparation and survival of this famine.

This is a time of great tension and, as far as the brothers know, the fate of Benjamin, their fate, and their father’s all hinge on this Egyptian official’s sense of mercy. It is a time of desperation, fear, and anxiety. To them, everything hinges on this official’s decision. Can you imagine how filled with confusion and dread and apprehension they must be? I wonder if they imagined how filled with confusion, fear, and apprehension Joseph must have been when he was thrown in that pit and then sold by his own brothers as a slave to traveling traders.

Bible Study on Matthew 13, verses 24 to 43, good seed and bad

 

Matthew 13:24 ¶  Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: 25  But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. 26  But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27  So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? 28  He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29  But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30  Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. 31  Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: 32  Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. 33  Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. 34  All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: 35  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. 36  Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. 37  He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; 38  The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; 39  The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 40  As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 41  The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42  And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43  Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

 

This passage begins with the tares and the wheat but these parables are linked if we think of the age of the Christian church. The Devil has planted false Christians in the church and I doubt many of them know they are fake any more than Judas will know he is a devil, according to Christ in John 6:70.

 

The institutional church will grow amazingly large but birds of the air, likened to the Devil in the previous passage contrasting verse 4 with verse 19, will lodge in its uppermost branches, the height of authority.

 

The woman, think of the whore of Babylon in Revelation, uses leaven, considered false doctrine in Matthew 16 coming up, in three measures of meal, representing the three great branches of Christianity, perhaps, the Roman Catholic Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, and Protestantism which controlled governments or were controlled by them, waged wars, bought and sold slaves, and murdered non-conforming Christians throughout history, spreading false doctrines and deceit around.

 

Of course, this is my interpretation from studying history and comparing it with the Bible but it seems so plausible as a warning of what is to come.

 

For these disciples, however, they are a mystery that only the Holy Ghost can unlock for them and they say they understand in the next passage.

Bible Study on Genesis 44, verses 1 to 17, a dilemma for the brothers of Joseph

 

Genesis 44:1 ¶  And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man’s money in his sack’s mouth. 2  And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack’s mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. 3  As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses. 4  And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good? 5  Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing. 6  And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words. 7  And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing: 8  Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks’ mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord’s house silver or gold? 9  With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord’s bondmen. 10  And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless. 11  Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack. 12  And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13  Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city. 14  And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph’s house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground. 15  And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine? 16  And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found. 17  And he said, God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.

Joseph sets the brothers up yet again for a shock by not only filling them with food and wine and also giving them provisions for their return journey, but then placing a special silver cup in the sack of Benjamin. All of the men’s money was returned again to them.

This silver cup, which it is said that Joseph used to drink from and to divine with has some special significance. It was common for nobility in the ancient world to use cups for the purposes of divining the will of the spiritual world. Several sources attest to this. The same instrument used by the pagan was also used by the people of God before the Law was given and after to divine God’s will. As an example the casting of lots takes place many times to divine God’s will because, unlike we today who believe heavily in randomness and luck based on randomness, the ancients believed that there was a point to everything even if humans were unable to discern it. Just type in the word lots in a computer concordance or look it up.

Divining was used to try to understand that plan or the intention of spiritual entities; gods, devils, and, in the sense of the people of God, His will. If you believe that no flip of the coin results from chance and that God is in control of all reality and events then this becomes easier to understand although its purpose may be truly ungodly and an abomination based on intent. Judging from Joseph’s character and his close relationship with God, being used by Him, I am confident that Joseph was not seeking answers from devils, pagan entities, but from God alone.

In this bit of deception, as you read, Joseph accuses them of stealing his cup in order to bring them back to him. Now, Joseph states that he is going to keep Benjamin as a servant, even though Judah offered all of them as Joseph’s servants, and they can go back to their father.