Joseph and his
Brothers
GENESIS 42 – 45
42:1-6
When
Jacob saw that there was grain in
Notice here that Jacob now had a new
favorite. Baby Benjamin had taken Joseph's place in Jacob's heart. Also note the
sarcasm with which Jacob speaks to his sons as he was forced to send them all,
except for Benjamin, off to
Driven by famine, the sons of Jacob arrived
in
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42:7-20
"Joseph saw
his brothers and recognized them, but
he acted as a stranger to them and spoke roughly to them. Then
he said to them, 'Where do you come from?' And they said, 'From the
How Joseph's heart must have been moved
when his brothers spoke to him of the one who is no more!
I am sure that Joseph was asking himself questions about his brothers at this
point. Have they changed? Are they sorry for what they did? Do they ever
think about me? How do they treat my little brother, Benjamin? Quickly, he came up
with a strategy. Speaking to them roughly,
he said, “You are spies!” It caught them
"flat footed". They objected vociferously. Then, he informed
them that they would have to prove there was indeed another son by producing
him. One of you, he said, will have to go and get him and bring him to
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42:21-24
"Then they
said to one another, 'We are truly guilty
concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with
us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us.'
And Reuben answered them, saying, 'Did I not
speak to you, saying, "Do not sin against the boy"; and you would not listen?
Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us.'
But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke
to them through an interpreter. And he turned
himself away from them and wept. Then he returned to them
again, and talked with them. And he took Simeon from them and
bound him before their eyes."
In this one conversation between the brothers, Joseph's questions were all answered. Joseph knew what they were saying to each other but they were unaware of that fact. They had been speaking to Joseph through an interpreter and had no idea he could understand their native Hebrew tongue. They were sorry for what they had done. The memory of their little brother’s pleadings had been seared on their brains and had been bothering their consciences for years.
Reuben told his brothers that all this trouble was come upon them because of their sin against Joseph saying, his blood is now required of us. Reuben believed in divine retribution, you see. At these words, Joseph was suddenly compelled to leave the presence of his brothers and weep. What emotionally charged events these were! After he had regained his composure, Joseph returned and then chose Simeon to be the one to be left behind as a pledge of their sincerity. Then, he had him bound in front of them all.
Simeon was the second brother of four ... Reuben,
Simeon, Levi and Judah. They were all Leah's boys. Simeon and Reuben were
probably close and
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42:25-28
"Then
Joseph gave a command to fill their sacks with grain, to restore every man's
money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. Thus he
did for them. So they loaded their donkeys with the grain and departed from
there. But as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the
encampment, he saw his money; and there it was, in the mouth of his sack. So he
said to his brothers, 'My money has been restored, and there it is, in my sack!'
Then their hearts failed them and they were afraid, saying to one another, 'What
is this that God has done to us?'"
Again, these brother's belief in the principle of divine retribution came to the front. The mysterious appearance of their money in their grain sacks seemed to them to be nothing short of supernatural ... and panic came upon them all. "What has God done to us," they asked. Now, they concluded, they would not only be suspected of being liars and spies but thieves as well! They never dreamed that all their money had been restored to them by Joseph himself. In reality, I believe that Joseph returned their money simply because it belonged to his father and Joseph wanted to bless him.
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42:29-38
"Then they
went to Jacob their father in the
When the brothers delivered their sad
report to Jacob, to say that Jacob didn’t receive it well is an understatement.
However, Reuben pressed his father to allow them to take Benjamin back to
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43:1-7
“Now the famine was severe in the land.
And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought
from
Once again, Jacob's family ran out of food. Again, they found themselves "between the Devil and a hard place". Jacob was being unreasonable and had resorted to playing the blame game. “Why in the world did you tell him you had another brother!” he whined. These type of discussions, by the way, lead nowhere and never have any positive results.
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43:8-14
“Then
Finally,
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43:15-18
“So the men took that present and
Benjamin, and they took double money in their hand, and arose and went down to
When Joseph saw Benjamin, his little
blood brother, now grown, he immediately opened his home to him for dinner. Remember,
Benjamin had no part in selling of Joseph into slavery. Immediately, however,
the other brothers attributed a different motive to the invitation to come to
Joseph’s home and dine. They said it was because he planned to make house slaves
of them all for stealing their money back from him. Isn’t it amazing how quickly our
hearts will attribute wrong motives to other people? (as
if we had a clue what their real motives were in something). Beloved, only God
can read hearts. He alone can weigh motives. As you have it in. Hebrews 4:13...
“And there is no creature hidden from His
sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give
account.”
We believers aught to get out of the judging of others and their motives business. Projecting motives onto other people cause more trouble than you can "shake a stick at". Am I right? We all need to take special care not to do that.
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43:19-25
“When they drew near to the steward of Joseph's
house, they talked with him at the door of the house, and said, ‘O sir,
we indeed came down the first time to buy food; but it happened, when we came to
the encampment, that we opened our sacks, and there, each man's money was in the
mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; so we have brought it back in our
hand. And we have brought down other money in our hands to buy food. We do not
know who put our money in our sacks.’ But he said, "Peace be with you, do not be
afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given
you treasure in your sacks; I had your money.’ Then he brought Simeon out to them. So
the man brought the men into Joseph's house and gave them water, and they washed
their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed. Then
they made the present ready for Joseph's coming at noon, for they heard
that they would eat bread there.”
When Joseph’s brothers arrived at his home, because they had totally misread Joseph’s motives, they stopped at the door ... afraid to go in. Ever notice how 99% of the things we worry and fret about never happen? So it was with Joseph’s brothers. They thought the worst was about to happen and instead, it was the best. They approached Joseph’s steward and related how they had found their money mysteriously in their sacks of grain. Amazingly, Joseph's steward assured them that the money that they had found was a gift from the God of your father. Furthermore, the steward said, he had the money that they had paid him for the food (a little white lie). Then, he brought Simeon out to them and they were reunited while awaiting Joseph’s arrival for dinner.
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43:26-34
“And when Joseph came home, they brought
him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed down before
him to the earth. Then he asked them about their well-being, and said, ‘Is
your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?’ And
they answered, ‘Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.’
And they bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves. Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his
mother's son, and said, ‘Is this your younger brother of whom you spoke to me?’
And he said, ‘God be gracious to you, my son.’ Now his heart yearned for his
brother; so Joseph made haste and
sought somewhere to weep. And he went into his chamber and wept there.
Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself, and said,
‘Serve the bread.’ So they set him a place by himself, and them by themselves,
and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could
not eat food with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. And
they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest
according to his youth; and the men looked in astonishment at one another.
Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamin's serving was five
times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him.”
When Joseph saw Benjamin, no doubt a flood of memories came into his mind. Benjamin was his only full brother (all the others were his half brothers). He, being much older than Benjamin, could recall Benjamin as a baby and how he had played with him as a toddler, had looked after him and enjoyed him. Now, there he stood, a grown young man. It was just too much. Once again, Joseph had to excuse himself and went out and wept. When he returned, he resumed his seat, according to Egyptian custom, separate from his sheep-herder brothers. He was still not ready to reveal himself to them and continued to play the part of an Egyptian. However, what amazed his brothers was the seating arrangement. They had each been placed around the table in the exact order of their births! This was the second hint Joseph gave to them as to who he was.
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44:1-13
“And he commanded the steward of his
house, saying, ‘Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and
put each man's money in the mouth of his sack. Also
put my cup, the silver cup, in the
mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his grain money.’ So he did
according to the word that Joseph had spoken. As soon as the morning dawned, the
men were sent away, they and their donkeys. When they had gone out of the city,
and were not yet far off, Joseph said to his steward, ‘Get up, follow the men; and when you overtake
them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good?
Is not this the one from which my lord
drinks, and with which he indeed practices divination? You have done
evil in so doing.' So he overtook them, and he spoke to them these same words.
And they said to him, ‘Why does my lord say these words? Far be it from us that
your servants should do such a thing. Look, we brought back to you from the
This is the story of a real set up. Benjamin was the target. Joseph's steward had been instructed to put Joseph's own cup in Benjamin's grain sack. The purpose was to see if these half brothers of Benjamin (Leah’s boys) would throw Benjamin to the dogs like they had so nonchalantly done with Joseph years before. When the caravan was intercepted, the brothers could not conceive that any of them could have stolen the cup of the ruler of all of Egypt. So, they confidently pronounced the death penalty on any of their number with whom it might be found. Further, they said, if any one of them had stolen it, the rest would also voluntarily become Joseph’s slaves. Then, of course, the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. What a horrible moment that must have been. Our text says, They tore their clothes ... and returned to the city.
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44:14-17
“So Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's
house, and he was still there; and
they fell before him on the ground. And Joseph said to them, ‘What deed
is this you have done? Did you not know that such a man as I can certainly
practice divination?’ Then
Like I said, this was a set up. Joseph
had deliberately put Benjamin in peril to see what his brothers would do. When
they arrived back in the city, once again Joseph’s brothers fell down before him.
God’s Word certainly had come to pass. In Joseph’s dream, God had said these men
would one day fall before him and so they did ... not just once ... but several
times. At this point,
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44:18-34
“Then
My what
an intercession
“But He (Jesus), because He continues
forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to
the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since
He always lives to make intercession for them.”
And, again in
Romans 8:26-27...
“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our
weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we
ought, but the Spirit Himself makes
intercession for us with groanings
which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the
mind of the Spirit is, because He
makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
Isn’t that wonderful?! Actually, we have two intercessors within the Godhead. I really appreciate that because I really need it. How about you?
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45:1-15
“Then
Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he
cried out, ‘Make everyone go out from me!’ So no one stood with him while Joseph
made himself known to his brothers. And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the
house of Pharaoh heard it. Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am
Joseph; does my father still live?’ But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in
his presence. And Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Please come near to me.’ So they came near. Then he said: ‘I
am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into
This is an incredibly moving scene. The
broken words ..
the sobs ... the volume ...the pathos … it all made
Joseph’s words to be heard by all the Egyptians that were in the house. His
brothers were stunned. They couldn’t believe their ears. They didn’t know what
to say. Then, Joseph said, “Please come near to me”. Some believe
that at this point Joseph revealed to the eyes of his brothers his circumcision,
the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant, as the concrete
proof of his identity. Personally, I concur. I believe that is just what happened.
Joseph told his brothers not to be grieved or angry with
yourselves because you sold me for God sent me before you to
preserve life. Exactly. The whole thing was
orchestrated by the sovereign and good hand of God who was working out his
perfect plan for all concerned both then and in the future. As you have it in
Psalm 105:17...
“He sent a man before them; Joseph;
who was sold as a slave.”
Truly, as you have it in Isaiah 55:8-11...
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor
are your ways My ways," says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts
than your thoughts. For as the rain comes down, and the snow from
heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth
and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread
to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not
return to Me void, but it shall
accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
Can you let God be God, dear saint? When we do, life can sure be a lot easier. And, if we can’t, God is going to be God anyway. Romans 8:28 says...
“And we know that
all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who
are the called according to His purpose.”
Joseph knew that which had happened to
him was from God and for God’s sovereign purpose. So, how could he blame his
brothers? Wow. That’s deep and wonderful, is it not? Joseph then told his
brothers to hurry home and tell Jacob that his son, Joseph, was alive and that
he wanted him to come down to
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45:16-20
“Now the report of it was heard in Pharaoh's
house, saying, ‘Joseph's brothers have come.’ So
it pleased Pharaoh and his servants well. And Pharaoh said to Joseph,
‘Say to your brothers, 'Do this: Load your animals and depart; go to the
Joseph was surely a greatly loved and highly respected man before Pharaoh and all the Egyptians. He was honest, fair, compassionate and a great administrator. In the Egyptians eyes, he had saved their bacon. He could do no wrong. Therefore, they rejoiced with Joseph when his family showed up and they did everything in their power to help and to make room for them and make them feel welcome.
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45:21-28
“Then the sons of
What a shocker it must have been, when
Jacob saw his sons coming home! Their caravan was laden with food and they were
driving carts and his sons
were saying, Joseph is still alive and he is governor
over all the
“Know certainly that
your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and
will serve them, and they will afflict them
four hundred years. And also
the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out
with great possessions.”
Once again, God’s word was being
fulfilled and his plan was right on track. He would
build a great nation of these brothers down there in Egypt. They would be his people. He would
be their God. He was placing them right where they needed to
be in order
to fulfill his purposes and glorify his name. This is how