Sunday, January 3, 2021

Sunday School lesson given at Lake Marburg Baptist Church: Genesis 43-45: Joseph and his brothers

 


Genesis, chapter 43

Genesis 43:1 ¶  And the famine was sore in the land. 2  And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food. 3  And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. 4  If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food: 5  But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. 6  And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother? 7  And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down? 8  And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones. 9  I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever: 10  For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time.

So, now there is nothing left of what Joseph had given his brothers. The famine is getting worse. Jacob tells them to go again to Egypt to buy food. Now, it is Judah who says to let Benjamin go and offers himself up as a guarantee against the young man’s return.

First Reuben then Judah tried to persuade their father to let Benjamin go with them.

Genesis 43:11 ¶  And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds: 12  And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight: 13  Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man: 14  And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.

This passage shows that it is the basic food crop that is affected by the famine and not other substances so that the famine has most likely been caused by a failure of the wheat crop throughout the Ancient Near East over several years. The reason I believe this famine has been caused by back to back wheat crop failures due to disease or other causes is that growing almonds takes a lot of water and I’ve even read it takes ten gallons of water to grow one almond. We’ve seen recently by the drought in California that drought takes its toll on nut and honey production. Egypt itself was not dependent upon rain as it was for the annual flooding of the Nile River. Taken together the evidence appears to indicate that it is not a lack of rainfall and water that hindered the wheat, the corn crop, but some other factor such as disease or even too much water. We must remember that many crop failures and famines in Medieval England were caused by too much rainfall. Nevertheless, Jacob’s family must have wheat from Egypt which would one day provide a great deal of the wheat necessary for the survival of Rome, the capital of empire, at the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry.

The famine was sore, very severe. See the definition of sore linked by and with great in a similar context.

Deuteronomy 6:22  And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:

This has been the cause of many food riots in the recent past, when the cost of food rises too high. Americans spend about 20% of their incomes on food while some countries, particularly in Africa, have to spend 80% of their income on food.

If you want to pick a single indicator of where political instability will occur in the modern world; political, social, or economic then the price of grain is your best bet. Other factors such as tribal hatreds, lack of participation in the political process, etc. set the stage but the rising cost of food is the tipping point. Desperation drives revolutions.

Back to the passage, the brothers must go back to Egypt, and to Joseph.

Genesis 43:15 ¶  And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. 16  And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon. 17  And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house. 18  And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses. 19  And they came near to the steward of Joseph’s house, and they communed with him at the door of the house, 20  And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food: 21  And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand. 22  And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks. 23  And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them. 24  And the man brought the men into Joseph’s house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender. 25  And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there.

The brothers take the amount of money they intended to spend on the last trip that was returned to them and the same amount of money again, to buy more food. They were then greeted at Joseph’s house in a manner that probably surprised them somewhat. Joseph’s steward, whom we would call a butler today, calms their fears and gives them the story about the money being in their sacks on the last trip being a miracle. This is the steward’s story, perhaps ordered by Joseph. The reader is under no requirement to view this as from God Himself. Joseph had their money put back in their sacks. In a way it was God working through Joseph who returned their money.

Genesis 43:26 ¶  And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth. 27  And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive? 28  And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance. 29  And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son. 30  And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there. 31  And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread. 32  And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians. 33  And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another. 34  And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin’s mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.

Joseph is now overwhelmed at the presence of his beloved brother, Benjamin. The brothers are amazed at the feast set before them. The Egyptians not eating side by side with the Hebrews reveals the hostility and disgust these civilized people of one of the ancient world’s superpowers feel toward these herders from the area we today call Palestine. The arrangements are revealed with Joseph seated separately, appropriately for his rank it can be presumed, the Egyptians separately, and the brothers seated by eldest to youngest. Benjamin gets five times as much food as the brothers did but it apparently doesn’t affect them. They drank and were merry with Joseph.

A mess from which we get “mess-kit” and “mess hall” in old military terms also means a portion of food or a dish as in a mess of meat. Just think of it as a meal or as a specific dish in a meal as Nicholas Culpeper in his 1652 work ‘The English Physician’ wrote a “mess of warm broth.”

2Samuel 11:8  And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king’s house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king.

Genesis, chapter 44

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.

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.

 

Genesis, chapter 45

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 19th 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. 

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 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.

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