Genesis (Written)

Genesis 44:1-17
The Cup and the Judgment

Introduction: Today’s 17 verses could be, and probably should be, two separate sermons. There will be a lot of details that we’ll have to skip over in order to finish everything today. And this may be a bit longer than other sermons, but what is hidden here is so wonderfully revealed in the New Testament that it is amazing.

As far as I know, no one else has ever come to these conclusions that you’ll hear today, so I hope you’ll enjoy them and that you will be blessed in them. God did a mighty work in Jesus Christ and that has been available to all people of the world. But for the most part, Israel rejected His plan.

However, in His great way, He has worked things out to reconcile them to Himself once again. As the church age winds down, the time for Israel’s reconciliation is coming nearer. A major portion of that plan is seen in these verses.

Text Verse: I will bring the one–third through the fire,
Will refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
And I will answer them.
I will say, ‘This is My people’;
And each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’” Zechariah 13:9

In order to be Lord of Egypt, Joseph had to suffer first. But after the suffering came the exaltation. And before he reveals himself to his brothers, he will put them through a test to refine them. And this is exactly what Jesus will do for Israel before He is fully revealed to them. It is all to be found in this majestic and superior word and so… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. The Cup of Divination (1-5)

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 each man’s money in the mouth of his sack.

This happens on the same day as the feast in Joseph’s house. During the feast, there was a lot of drinking going on. This is what the Hebrew implies. While the brothers are in a rather happy state, Joseph prepares them for a test of their character.

The steward of the house is given his instructions. The sacks are to be filled with food, even an abundance of food. As it says “as much as they can carry.” And once again, the money that they brought for the grain is to be returned.

Once again, like the last time, Joseph will not accept money from their hand for the grain needed to sustain them. Just like before, the food is by necessity a gift. In the past, they had sold Joseph and received money for him.

If he accepted their money it would imply an exchange of payment for what he was actually sold for. If you see Christ in this, you are right. He paid the debt and the Bread of life is offered freely. How could he receive payment for what is a gift of grace? And more so when the money they have partly came from His sale.

² Also put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his grain money.”

This silver cup was certainly used by Joseph at the meal. The brothers would have seen him using it and so what is coming has been prepared in advance. The implication is that the cup was in sight of them, they all saw it, and one of them must have it.

However, if this was all there was in the sack, it would have been convincing evidence that it was stolen by Benjamin. But it’s not all that was in there, for Benjamin or for any of them. They all have their money back in their sack. And so they could come to a certain conclusion – that Benjamin was innocent.

***The cup Benjamin has is not one he stole. Instead, it was a cup he bore even though it wasn’t his to bear. A picture of Jesus is to be seen in this action if you understand His work…

Also in this verse, instead of using the term “food” like he did in the previous verse, it says “grain.” It is the word shever which has been used five times so far to describe the grain being bought and sold by the brothers. It implies breaking, or a fracture, or a breach. These different words for food and grain will soon make sense.

The cup that’s referred to here is the Hebrew word gabia. It comes from an unused root word which conveys the sense of elevation or roundness, like a hill. Thus it is a goblet or bowl of large size. While we go through these verses, I want you to try to think of where this cup, gabia, may be connected in the New Testament.

^2 (con’t) So he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.

The steward complied with the instructions and did exactly as Joseph had directed. Every step of the process here shows a careful and methodical plan to determine what he wants to know. It is all intended to lead to how he will ultimately deal with his brothers and it is all centering on Benjamin, the Son of the Right Hand.

³ As soon as the morning dawned, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys.

It is early the next day, the day after the big feast, that they are sent away. The Hebrew says, ha’boqer owr –  “The morning, light, and the men were sent away.” It is implies the time when the light first comes out. This is the only time this exact expression is used in the Old Testament and it corresponds with what Matthew 28:1 says –

Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. Matthew 28:1

Also, it specifically notes, “and their donkeys.” The story is giving every necessary word in order to highlight what is happening. They had a great day of feasting, they are loaded up, and they are heading out early with everything they had come for and the animals they had come with. They are packed for the journey like a family on a vacation, and nothing is lacking.

⁴ 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?

Completely aware of when they left and probably estimating the amount of time it would take for them to just get out of the city, Joseph, gives the order to bring his plans to a climax. This steward would certainly have had guards with him.

There are 11 men and, although not mentioned anywhere in the story, there would probably have been servants with them as well. When he caught up with them, he is told to ask them why they repaid evil for good.

This is a common biblical theme, seen from the Garden of Eden all the way through its pages. And it’s a part of the human condition ever since as well. Someone does something good and another turns and does something wicked in return.

The ultimate example of it, of course, is God sending Jesus and He being crucified, and then even that work being rejected. Proverbs shows that the penalty for this is only more evil –

Whoever rewards evil for good,
Evil will not depart from his house. Proverbs 17:13

Thus Israel found much evil in their house for their rejection of Jesus. It has gone on for 2000 years. But God, who is patient and forgiving has brought them back home and is preparing to restore them. And this is all what is being pictured in the life of Joseph. Thank God for His great mercy.

Why have you so repaid evil for good
What is it that makes man act in such a way?
In the gift of Jesus it must be understood
That His life was given for our sins to pay

And so to turn from Him and malign what He has done
Is to repay evil for His greatest good
Yes, God gave to us Jesus His Son
But we crucified Him, nailing Him to a cross of wood

The cup which is now in Benjamin’s sack is a special one and it has a special purpose – one which points to something which is fulfilled in Jesus. Let’s take a look at the continuing details…

⁵ Is not this the one from which my lord drinks, and with which he indeed practices divination? You have done evil in so doing.’”

There is a lot of speculation about the wording here. Almost every translation says that the cup is used for divination or telling the future. But among scholars there are a which variety of other possibilities which have been submitted.

Some say that he would have “diligently looked for the cup,” rather than that he would have used the cup for divination – it is an action by Joseph to find the cup, rather than a use by Joseph of the cup. Others say that he would have consulted diviners in order to find the cup. And another translates the word instead of divination as “testing.”

In other words, “he used this cup to test you and you have failed the test.” This seems the most likely based on the surrounding text. It is the cup from which he drank and the cup he would have had with him the day before. He is using it to test his brothers.

And another thing, it cannot go unexplained that the word for divination is nakhash. It is the verb from which is derived the same word in noun form, nakhash, meaning “serpent.”

It is the same word used for “serpent” in the Garden of Eden and also the bronze serpent which was held up in the wilderness to save the people when they were bit. This serpent is referred to by Jesus in the New Testament in John 3:14, 15 –

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Is anybody seeing the connection? Has anyone placed the cup, gabia, yet? Keep thinking. It is all to be found in Christ.

II. In Whomever Lies the Guilt, Let Him Die (6-13)

⁶ So he overtook them, and he spoke to them these same words.

Just as he was instructed, so he relayed to the brothers. They have been given the words of Joseph and now comes their denial…

⁷ 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.

There is the immediate protestation of innocence. “We haven’t done what we have been accused of. It is simply not correct.” As we read this account, we have to remember what it’s picturing. Joseph pictures Jesus and the brothers are the tribes of Israel.

They have been accused of a crime and they are denying they have committed one. They are actually unaware of the guilt they now bear. As you know possession is 9/10ths of the law.

⁸ Look, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money which we found in the mouth of our sacks. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house?

In their defense, they remind him that they brought back the money from the previous trip, even after having been out of the reach of Egypt’s authority, so why would they try to take a cup made of silver in a place where they could be caught?

Especially for something that probably wasn’t worth the same weight in the silver they brought back. And as a further defense, they mention both silver and gold. In other words, we could have stolen silver or gold. Why would we steal a silver cup? To further their claim they continue speaking…

⁹ With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my lord’s slaves.”

What is said here is such a close reflection of what happened to their father Jacob many years ago, that the similarity shouldn’t be missed. When Jacob fled from his father-in-law Laban, Rachel took his household gods. When Laban accused Jacob, his response was –

“‘With whomever you find your gods, do not let him live. In the presence of our brethren, identify what I have of yours and take it with you.’ For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.” Genesis 31:32

In fact all of them except Benjamin were with Jacob at that time, though most were very young, but it was probably remembered by them as they spoke now. Jacob didn’t know that Rachel had stolen the gods and none of them now realize what is in their possession.

¹⁰ And he said, “Now also let it be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, and you shall be blameless.”

This verse perplexes scholars because of what seems like a dismissive or misunderstanding steward. The proposal was that the one who had the cup would be executed and the rest would become slaves. Instead, the steward says basically, “Ok, the one who has it will be my slave and everyone else is free to go.”

It doesn’t make sense. But one scholar says that instead of being an agreement, the steward made it a surprised question, “Is that right according to your words?” In other words, fair justice only demands the punishment of the thief. This is what makes sense.

And it’s what makes Bible reading interesting. By reading different versions and thinking things through, we can come to acceptable answers concerning hard to translate passages, of which there are many. In his words we see that the one who has the cup will be punished in place of all the others. Do you see a parallel to Jesus?

¹¹ Then each man speedily let down his sack to the ground, and each opened his sack.

The challenge is accepted and the sacks are opened…

¹² So he searched. He began with the oldest and left off with the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.

The old saying, “They that hide can find” rings true here. The steward hid the cup and in a dramatic and suspenseful way he finds it, having gone from one brother to the next, from the oldest to the youngest in the process.

Another connection to the search by Laban in Genesis 31 is made in this verse. The word for “So he searched” is v’happesh. The first time it was used in Scripture was during the search by Laban for the idols in Rachel’s tent. But they weren’t found.

This is the second time this term, v’happesh, is used in the Bible and this time, what is looked for is found. This isn’t a coincidence, but the accounts are being drawn together to show us the contrast between them. If you missed that sermon, or if you’ve forgotten it, it would be worth going back and checking it out.

The order of that search was carefully described and yet perplexing, but ultimately it pointed to the people of Israel and the work of Christ. This search is no different. It goes through the sons of Israel and ends with Benjamin, the Son of the Right Hand.

And the cup which belongs to Joseph is now in Benjamin’s sack. Both of them are sons of Rachel and are the last sons to be born to Jacob. Rachel pictures grace, not the law. These are the sons of grace. That story, all the way back in Genesis 31, is showing us this pattern. It’s being contrasted with what we now see here.

Israel has been in exile because they missed the grace. Now the grace must be revealed. None of this is chance or coincidence. It is given to show us details of the Messiah. The cup is in Benjamin’s possession. What is this telling us? Another curiosity is that the word for sack used here is a special word amtakhath.

It’s used only 15 times in the Bible. All 15 have been in the story of Joseph and his brothers, starting in chapter 42 and ending right

here. The word has been used 7 times in this chapter alone and this is the last time it will be used in the Bible. It comes from another word, mathakh, which is used only once, in Isaiah 40:22 –

It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. Isaiah 40:22

And why has Joseph ordered this scenario to happen? Why has it come to this point? The answer is that he wanted to know their attitude towards Benjamin, the second son of Rachel. Did they hate him like they hated Joseph?

If so, it would now become evident because they’d have a reason to simply leave him to be a slave and head back home. This is why the steward changed the conditions of the agreement from death for one and slavery for all to just slavery for one. Will this happen, or will they have a change in attitude towards their father’s favorite son? The next verse begins to tell us…

¹³ Then they tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey and returned to the city.

“They” implies all the brothers. They collectively tear their clothes as a sign of the deepest distress. They are in true anguish over the chain of events and the situation in which they have found themselves. And without note of hesitation or consultation, they surrender themselves collectively to whatever fate awaits them.

They load the sacks back onto the donkeys and return to face the ruler of Egypt once again.

III. The Man in Whose Hand the Cup was Found (14-17)

¹⁴ So Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house,

Judah is now highlighted. Why? It is because he is the one who vowed to his father these words in the previous chapter –

“Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. ⁹ I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.”

What was vowed is now expected and Judah is specifically named in the Bible to reflect this. Other than Benjamin, none of the other brothers are named in the entire account. It is up to Judah to make things right. Judah is where the term “Jew” comes from. Judah is representative of all Jews in this regard; he will speak for all Israel.

^{14 (con’t)} and he was still there; and they fell before him on the ground.

Joseph never left the house as one might expect of the lord of the land who directs the selling of the grain. This is the moment to which everything has been pointing and he has remained to see it through. When the brothers arrived, rather than bowing, they simply and completely prostrate themselves.

Along with the torn clothes, they have wholly humbled themselves in his presence. Jesus the Lord (Jehovah), whom Joseph pictures will be there in the Lord’s house – the temple – in Jerusalem when they come to their moment of distress too. This picture is exact.

¹⁵ 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?”

Joseph, the ruler of Pharaoh’s house, gives them questions which have long been anticipated. And then he follows up with a rhetorical question, “What thing have you done? Don’t you know I can look into matters in a way you can’t even perceive.”

Here he uses the term nachesh v’nachesh – “divining can divine.” But again, this doesn’t mean he is using mystical interpretations. Instead, he implies that he can make a trial into a matter or discern truth in some way. The emphatic nature of it implies that he has the complete ability to find out the truth.

¹⁶ Then Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves?

Judah’s words imply that nothing they say can clear their guilt and nothing they say will be effective to do so. One commentator on this verse said, “The address needs no comment” and then he went on for a full page commenting on it. The heartfelt nature of this account cannot be left without our deepest consideration.

^{16  (cont’)} God has found out the iniquity of your servants;

Here in this verse the term ha’elohim, “the God” is now used by Judah. Until this point, the sons have never said this. He admits their iniquity without specifying what he means. But it is certainly referring not to the matter of the cup here, but that of having sold their brother more than 20 years earlier. The Geneva Bible says –

“If we see no obvious cause for our affliction, let us look to the secret counsel of God, who punishes us justly for our sins.”

He knows that God’s secret counsel is behind what is happening and so he resigns them to their fate…

^{16  (cont’)} here we are, my lord’s slaves, both we and he also with whom the cup was found.”

In acknowledgment of what they deserve, he offers all of them as slaves for their deeds of the past and the supposed misdeed of Benjamin.

* ¹⁷ But he said, “Far be it from me that I should do so; the man in whose hand the cup was found, he shall be my slave. And as for you, go up in peace to your father.”

Joseph is now ready to test the sincerity of the brothers personally. In response to their offer, he makes his own claim, and it is on Benjamin, the Son of the Right Hand. “He will be my slave and the rest of you are free to go in peace, back to your father.” The word “slave”  here means a servant.

This is our last verse today, but the story must be looked at in a way which will reveal what is going on. It is, as every story thus far in this cycle of Joseph since he was sold off to Egypt, pointing to the work of Christ and His ultimate reconciliation with Israel.

From this perspective, and before I give my personal analysis, I’d like to read you the comments of Jamieson-Faucett-Brown –

“Joseph’s behavior must not be viewed from any single point, or in separate parts, but as a whole—a well-thought, deep-laid, closely connected plan; and though some features of it do certainly exhibit an appearance of harshness, yet the pervading principle of his conduct was real, genuine, brotherly kindness. Read in this light, the narrative of the proceedings describes the continuous, though secret, pursuit of one end; and Joseph exhibits, in his management of the scheme, a very high order of intellect, a warm and susceptible heart, united to a judgment that exerted a complete control over his feelings—a happy invention in devising means towards the attainment of his ends and an inflexible adherence to the course, however painful, which prudence required.”

As they see it, Joseph is working out an exceptional scheme which is intended to produce one ultimate goal – reconciliation with his brothers. Viewing Joseph as a type of Jesus, the same must be considered in the history of the Jewish people as they are led directly to their meeting and reconciliation with Him.

In order to see that this is, in fact how God works, I want to read you a passage from 2 Samuel 14 which says exactly this. It is spoken to King David by a woman from Tekoa as she attempts to reconcile the king to his estranged son Absalom –

¹⁴ “For we will surely die and become like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises means, so that His banished ones are not expelled from Him.”

What Joseph has done toward his brothers, and what God has done towards Israel is perfectly summed up in this idea. Now, here are my thoughts on today’s verses.

The brothers have been in the presence of Joseph, in his house, celebrating – and yet not recognizing him. This points to the Jewish people in the end times, back in Israel, back in the temple, in the presence of the King and not even recognizing Him.

Until they acknowledge Him in his past and present role as the suffering Servant who now sits at God’s right hand, He will not reveal Himself to them. They must acknowledge the Jesus they rejected in order to have Him return and save them.

This is so clearly laid out elsewhere in the Old Testament, that it is astonishing that people miss it. It’s even spoken by Jesus Himself in a verse I often quote from Matthew 23:37-39 –

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! ³⁸ See! Your house is left to you desolate; ³⁹ for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”

Joseph orders that they be given as much food as they can carry and he returns their money. The food is the word of God. It is both testaments of the Bible. They have the full supply spread out before them.

The money is returned because there can be no payment made for what is grace, especially when they had sold their brother 20 years earlier. That money would have been included in their wealth. What is free cannot be paid for. It is pointing to the grace of God in Christ, something that cannot be earned.

This is why the word amtakhath has been used again and again for describing their sacks. It means “to spread out.” It pictures God spreading out the story filled with the grain, the word. It is the spread out and fully revealed word of God. It reveals what is hidden; it shows what has been concealed, represented by the silver which was twice hidden in their sacks.

At first, their sacks were called sak – implying sackcloth. They had only the Old Testament which showed the law, woe, and suffering, not God’s fully revealed plan. But all during this series of stories, since chapter 42, amtakhath, not sak, is used.

And in the Bible it is only used in the Joseph stories – an account pointing to the future reconciliation between Jesus and Israel. The grain in the sacks is called shever, meaning cracked or a breech, instead of bar meaning purified. There is a breech between their understanding of the word and what the word actually says.

This isn’t a stretch here because only one more time is grain going to be mentioned in relation to this account and the term bar -purified grain, not shever will be used. And it will be after the revealing of Joseph to his brothers. Only in the Hebrew, not English, can this be seen.

Into the sack of grain, the shever, of Benjamin’s bag is placed the cup, the gabia. And so we need to remember what Benjamin pictures. At his birth, he pictured Christ. If you missed that sermon, you should go back and watch it.

He was named Ben-Oni by his mother, meaning Son of My Suffering. Jacob renamed him Benjamin, Son of My Right Hand. Like Christ, before the exaltation there was suffering.

Benjamin here pictures Christ who first bears the cup. But there is a multi-level play on words in this cup. In the New Testament, there is a word, used only one time, which is exactingly brought into the gospel records, being specifically named in both Greek and Aramaic by John. Let me read you the account –

“When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha)..” John 19:13 (NIV)

I used the NIV for that because it is an Aramaic, not a Hebrew word as many versions incorrectly translate it. The cup, gabia, is named from a root word conveying the sense of elevation or roundness, hence a goblet. The word Gabbatha means an elevated place, a knoll – hence a rounded area like a goblet. Like Benjamin with the gabia, there at Gabbatha, Jesus was charged and committed to His execution, just as we saw with Benjamin here.

So now, I now want to read you all of John 19:1-30. As I read, think about the Jewish people as they sold Jesus off to His death – Ben-Oni, the Son of My Suffering, just as the brothers sold Joseph off to his fate. Remember as I read also what I said earlier about the cup in Benjamin’s sack.

They have been accused of a crime and they are denying they have committed one. They are actually unaware of the guilt they bear, but they are guilty, even though they don’t realize it. They sold off Joseph, whom Benjamin is now picturing – the suffering Son.

And after his suffering Joseph was exalted, thus Benjamin again pictures Jesus, the Son of My Right Hand. Israel has missed this for 2000 years, but the story shows us that the time to be revealed has come – maybe in our lives! Here is John 19:1-30 (READ TEXT)

I said there was a multi-leveled play on the word “cup.” It is pointing to the trial at Gabbatha, but it is also the cup which Jesus prayed to be taken from Him while in Gethsemane. There, in the garden, He said “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me.” The cup is the trial, and the trial was at Gabbatha.

And the cup was the wrath of God, poured out in full strength upon His own Son; His Son of Suffering. This is why Benjamin has the cup and why the brothers will have to defend him and be willing to trade places with him before Joseph will reveal Himself to them.

This is what Jesus said to Israel, under the Law “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Luke 9:23

These are the things that the Bible says are coming and it has been shown in advance so that we don’t err by saying that the church has replaced Israel. Instead, the church, pictured by Joseph’s gentile wife, is referred to between the accounts of Joseph’s brothers.

And this is why Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph’s sons, will later be adopted by Jacob. How can we deny what God is so clearly showing us? This is why the servant asked “Why have you repaid evil for good?” God sent His Son for the good of all mankind, but they rejected what He did for them.

And this is why the word for “divination” was used as it was. It  indicates “testing.” In other words, the cup was their test and they failed the test. They didn’t accept His work. That cup was the cup of God’s wrath – His trial at Gabbatha, and the cross. And God’s way of proving it to us is that from the same word nakhash, “divination” comes the word which means “serpent.”

It is the same word for “serpent” in the Garden of Eden and also the same word for bronze serpent which was held up in the wilderness to save the people when they were bit. That serpent is the one referred to by Jesus in the New Testament –

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:14, 15

One serpent tested man. He failed and was condemned. One serpent was used to prefigure the cross of Jesus where man is pardoned. One results in God’s wrath; one results in God’s healing grace. One brought death; one brings life. This is why the servant said, “Is not this the one from which my lord drinks?”

Yes, He did drink from it. Jesus drank it down to its dregs for you and me – and for His brothers Israel too. The question is, will they defend Benjamin so that Jesus will be revealed among them in power in the coming Kingdom Age? We’ll see in the sermons ahead.

There is so much in these 17 verses which pointed to the work of Christ. These hidden and amazing details show what He has done and what He will do. I’ve tried to give you enough of them to show God’s amazing plan for Israel. They are back in the land and the time is coming, certainly soon.

In the end, it all points to Jesus and His love for all people – both Jew and gentile. It also shows us His faithfulness to Israel. Despite being sold off by them, Joseph develops a plan to test them and bring about reconciliation. And Jesus has done the same, showing us the details in these stories. He is the ever-faithful, merciful, and full-of-grace Lord.

I would ask for just another moment to share with you how you too can be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ and why He is the only way it is possible to receive God’s pardon…

Closing Verse: Thus says your Lord,
The Lord and your God,
Who pleads the cause of His people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand
The cup of trembling,
The dregs of the cup of My fury;
You shall no longer drink it. Isaiah 51:22

Next Week: Genesis 44:18-34 (Judah’s Impassioned Plea) (111th Genesis Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you and He has a good plan and purpose for you. Call on Him and let Him do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Cup and the Judgment

And he commanded the steward of his house, saying
“Fill the men’s sacks with food to take back
As much as they can carry, to you I am relaying
And put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack.

Also put my cup, the silver cup I implore you
In the mouth of the sack of the youngest, an unknown token
And his grain money, put that in too
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 who brayed, as the men yawned

When they, out of the city had gone
And were not yet far off, but still near
Joseph said to his steward “Come on
Get up, follow the men before they disappear

And when you overtake them, say so it’s understood
‘Why have you gone and 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 methinks

So he overtook them, these eleven folk
And to them these same words he spoke

And they said to him, as together their voice did ring
“Why does my lord say these words?
Far be it from us that your servants should do such a thing

Look, to you we certainly brought back
From the land of Canaan the money
Which we found each in the mouth of our sack

How then could we steal silver or gold
From your lord’s house? We are honest men as we before told

With whomever of your servants it is found
Let him die, to you this we speak
And we also will be my lord’s slaves, remaining bound
Even if our future were to remain so bleak

And he said, “Now also let it be
According to your words in your address
He with whom it is found shall be my slave
And the rest of you shall be blame-less

Then each man let down his sack with speed
To the ground and each opened his sack
Showing he was not a man of greed

So he searched as each man did unpack
He began with the oldest and left off with the youngest
And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack

Then they tore their clothes, filled with remorse and pity
And each man loaded his donkey
And so they returned to the city

So Judah and his brothers each and all
Came to Joseph’s house, surely making a mournful sound
And he was still there and they did fall
Before him there on the ground

And Joseph said to them by and by
“What deed is this you have wrought?
Did you not know that such a man as I
Can certainly divine, and see that which I have sought?

Then Judah said, certainly trembling and weak
“What shall we say to my lord?
What of value to you shall we speak?
Or how shall we clear ourselves, by what word?

God has found out the iniquity of your servants this day
Here we are, my lord’s slaves
So both we and he also with whom the cup was found will stay

But he said, “Far be it from me
That I should do so in this matter so grave
The man in whose hand the cup was found, only he
Shall be kept here and he shall be my slave

And as for you, go up in peace to your father
I will keep only him here and not another

What Joseph has done involves a detailed plan
To finally bring reconciliation between his brothers and he
And it is no different than God’s redemption of man
He has devised ways to reunite us and bring about harmony

He works in our lives in ways we cannot perceive
But it is for an intended purpose and goal
His plans are meant to bring us to where we believe
That He alone can save our wayward soul

In demonstration of His great love and unending care
He has worked in history to reconcile us
And there in the Bible is the place that where
We find the story of His plan, all centered on Jesus

Yes Lord, thank You for all this wonder that You have wrought
And carefully recorded in the Bible, so that we can be taught

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

Genesis 43:26-34
Rejoicing in the Presence of the Ruler

Introduction: The Bible shows that Jesus was rejected by His own people and that the message of Christ then went to the nations. However, both testaments of the Bible then tell that Israel would be – as a nation, called back to their land, and that they would again build a temple in Jerusalem.

Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah specifically speak of these things. Other prophets give hints of it as well. And Daniel 9 gives an exact timeline of what would occur and how it would happen. Daniel shows clearly that there are 7 years left for them until they have finally met the six requirement he mentions.

They are 1) To finish the transgression, 2) To make an end of sins, 3) To make reconciliation for iniquity, 4) To bring in everlasting righteousness, 5) To seal up vision and prophecy, 6) And to anoint the Most Holy.

During that period, which encompasses much of the book of Revelation, a temple will again be built. The Jewish people will go worship the Lord without even realizing who He truly is. This is pictured in today’s verses concerning Joseph and his brothers.

Open eyes don’t necessarily equate to eyes that see. This is true with the sons of Israel in the presence of Joseph and it is true with the people of Israel in the presence of Jesus. As astonishing as it seems, everything that is coming in the future for Israel has already been laid out in the past.

All they need to do is open their eyes and believe in their hearts. But instead, Jesus is hidden from their eyes even though He is right there in front of them, just as Joseph is right in front of his brothers and yet remains unrecognized. He speaks to them; Jesus speaks to Israel – but the ears cannot hear, and the eyes cannot perceive.

Text Verse: For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. ⁴ For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Romans 10:3, 4

Christ is, in fact, the end of the law for all who believe. But Israel went about seeking to establish her own righteousness and has not submitted to the righteousness of God. When the temple is built, they will make offerings and observe feast days. Even though these were fulfilled in Christ, they’ll fail to see what is in front of them.

This is the journey we will continue on today as we open, ponder, and seek out the pictures and patterns in God’s superior word. And so let’s turn to that word now and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Fulfilling the Dreams of Joseph (26-28)

²⁶ And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house,

This goes back to verse 16. When they met up with Joseph on their return to Egypt, he said “Take these men to my home, and slaughter an animal and make ready; for these men will dine with me at noon.”

While he finished up the business of the morning, overseeing the giving out of bread, they were brought in and prepared for the coming meal. Now that he has arrived, the first thing they do is to bring out the present they had brought at the behest of Jacob.

This consisted of six things – balm, honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. Even though the steward had already tried to pacify them about the money in their sacks and being brought into the house, it’s evident that they were still unsure and wanted to placate him as much as possible, as soon as possible.

The great biblical numerologist and scholar E.W. Bullinger defines the number six in this way – “Six is either 4 plus 2, i.e., man’s world (4) with man’s enmity to God (2) brought in: or it is 5 plus 1, the grace of God made of none effect by man’s addition to it, or perversion, or corruption of it: or it is 7 minus 1, i.e., man’s coming short of spiritual perfection. In any case, therefore, it has to do with man; it is the number of imperfection; the human number; the number of MAN as destitute of God, without God, without Christ.”

If you can see this then in the gift, you can understand the parallel to modern Israel. The brothers are without knowing who Joseph is while he is standing right there in front of them. To him, the ruler, they offer a gift involving six things.

It is picturing works in order to please God, but God is only pleased with faith and faith can only be pleasing if it is in what God has done. In other words, the brothers don’t recognize Joseph just as Israel doesn’t recognize Jesus. All of the gifts in the world will never satisfy God if they lack faith in what God has done.

We have to keep remembering what is being pictured. Joseph pictures Jesus the Lord. The brothers picture the leaders of Israel. They still don’t know who He is, but there will be a reunion between the two. This is where we are in the Joseph stories now.

These brothers have been brought into Joseph’s house. The Jews will come into the house of the Lord. They will make offerings, but they still won’t recognize who this Lord is. This is the picture that is soon to be fulfilled in Israel. This isn’t a stretch of the picture, it is exactly what is prophesied in both testaments of the Bible.

A present to pacify the ruler from the sons of Israel
But a present isn’t what the ruler wants or needs
The Bible is clear of the message it does tell
We are saved by grace through faith and not external deeds

^{26 (con’t)} and bowed down before him to the earth.

This is finally the fulfillment of the dream that Joseph had more than 20 years earlier. In Genesis 37, this was what was noted –

^“Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. ⁶ So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: ⁷ There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.” ⁸ And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” (5-8)

In fact, though they despised the thought and rejected even a notion of it, it has come to pass. And this isn’t just a dream fulfilled in Joseph, but a dream which is fulfilled in Jesus. There is no knee, Jew or Gentile, that won’t bow before Him as the Bible tells us.

The day is coming when Israel will see, understand, and accept. The story of Joseph and his brothers looks forward to that time. The time of separation from Joseph is close to ending and the time of exile and separation from Jesus for Israel is, in our lifetime, close to ending as well.

They will bow to the Lord without even knowing who he truly is at first. Only afterwards will they understand that the Lord they have bowed to is the Brother they sold off to the gentiles.

²⁷ Then he asked them about their well-being, and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke?

The Hebrew says that he asked them about their peace. Then he asked “is there peace to your father?” The word is shalom and is more than just well-being, but it means prosperity, health, soundness in mind and spirit, and so on. It is an all-encompassing thought concerning their well being and the well being of the father, as he calls him “the old man of whom you spoke.”

^{27 (con’t)} Is he still alive?”

Without even giving them a chance to reply about their shalom or dad’s shalom, he asks if he is even still alive. Jacob was born in the year 2169AM and it is now around the year 2299AM, making him right at 130 years old.

At such an advanced age, every day is precious and he wonders if there is still good news concerning him. Jacob delayed in allowing the brothers to return to Egypt and in that amount of time, Joseph was uncertain if he was still alive. But good news is just ahead…

²⁸ And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.”

Joseph actually had two dreams when he was young, not one. If you remember, the second dream went as follows –

^“Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.” ¹⁰ So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” ¹¹ And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.“(Genesis 37:9-11)

Although there is no literal fulfillment of this dream recorded in the Bible, there is still a symbolic fulfillment in this verse. Jacob sent a present with the sons for the ruler and upon giving it to him and answering his questions, they said, “Your servant our father…”

It is an implicit bow by Jacob because of the term “servant.” The dream of the sun bowing to Joseph sees its initial fulfillment in this statement. However, the ultimate fulfillment is only realized in Jesus where the tribes of Israel, including Judah the lawgiver (which is the sun) and the law which Jesus fulfilled (which is the moon) all bow to Him.

The main thing in this verse is that Jacob, though being Joseph’s father, is made subordinate to him without them even knowing it. And this is exactly what has come about with Israel. Christ came from them and yet they have been subordinated to Christ. But they, to this day, don’t realize it. The time is coming though.

It is so wonderful to see how these small narratives keep pointing us ahead. One after another, each continues to show us marvelous pieces of later history – history that may be fulfilled in our lives

Israel is still alive and remains in good health
God has kept him for an appointed destiny
To him will come blessing and spiritual wealth
When to him is revealed his greatest Son’s identity

^{28 (con’t)} And they bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves.

Once again the brothers bow to their own brother without realizing it. Not only was the dream of his youth fulfilled, it is repeated. What they hated and refused to believe, is done without their even realizing it. The brothers have bowed to Joseph.

And although Israel still hasn’t recognized Jesus, just as the brothers don’t yet recognize Joseph, they will implicitly bow to Him before they realize who He is. How? Well, the law and prophets all testify to Jesus and He is the fulfillment and embodiment of them.

The Bible shows that a temple will be built again before Jesus is revealed to the nation. By building the temple, enacting the sacrificial system, and pronouncing the law on which they are based, they will be bowing to the One who has, in fact, fulfilled that law already. The picture is interesting and exact.

II. Eyes That They Should Not See (29-31)

²⁹ 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?”

To lift one’s eyes from a biblical standpoint doesn’t just mean to see something or someone, but it is to notice them and to mentally acknowledge them. Joseph has already seen Benjamin with his eyes, but now there is the mental acknowledgement of him.

He has set his gaze on him in a way that he hadn’t before. It is both acknowledging who he is and how he is related to him as the Bible then explains by saying “his mother’s son.” All eleven of his brother’s are there, but only Benjamin is the son of His mother.

He knows it is him, but to feign a lack of knowledge, he asks if this is the one they’d told him about in the past. And then, without giving them a chance to answer he goes on as the verse continues…

^{29 (con’t)}And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.”

By speaking without allowing them to confirm that it is Benjamin, he is implying to them that he believes them to be honest. In other words, he could have interrogated them in some way, he could have asked for some type of proof, or whatever.

But instead he goes from the question to the confirmation of his belief without hesitation. It is, for all of them, a proof that they are safe. And not only safe, but reassured as well. His words to Benjamin are “God be gracious to you, my son.”

The words to Benjamin are welcoming words that the brothers needed in order to feel at peace about having come to Egypt again, about having brought Benjamin, about having to face the ruler, and about having been brought into his house. Any tensions which preceded the moment are gone in this blessing upon Benjamin.

³⁰ Now his heart yearned for his brother;

Imagine the emotion he felt. After more than 20 years of being separated from his brother, the son of his own mother, he wanted to shout out who he was. It was probably an overwhelming desire, but instead he held it in so that the emotion welled up to tears.

I can’t help but see the parallel in Israel today. They are back in the land, they are preparing to build a temple, they will be initiating sacrifices, reading the law, and engaging in the feast days that the law requires. They will be standing, literally, in the presence of the Lord not knowing that He is the One who is their true leader.

And His heart will yearn for them as they do these things. Joseph wanted to cry out, “I am your brother,” and Jesus wants them to know the same. But the time isn’t yet. What He embodies must be given time to be tested and proven true before He is revealed.

The 9th chapter of Daniel has granted 7 more years to Israel to recognize these things. It will be a time of testing and difficulty, but they are coming. Joseph won’t yet be revealed to his brothers and Jesus won’t immediately be revealed to His people. Instead, Jesus will certainly remain in a state of sadness as they endure what lies ahead. This is seen in the continuation of verse 30…

^{30 (con’t)} so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. And he went into his chamber and wept there.

In order to avoid being seen in this state, he turned and headed for his chamber. The ruler of all the land of Egypt is overwhelmed by the moment and the situation. Despite the rule and authority he has been granted, he is also a human with a heart that beats in him.

And Jesus, despite being ruler of heaven and earth, fully God in all ways, also remains a Man. The emotions of the Lord certainly didn’t change after the resurrection. He wept at Lazarus’ tomb, He wept over Jerusalem, and He surely weeps over His people today.

How difficult it must be to sit on heaven’s throne and withhold Himself from shouting out, “It is I, your Brother.” I cannot even imagine. Joseph was pained; Jesus is pained. But the time for the eyes to be opened hasn’t come. Paul writes about it in Romans 11 –

“God has given them a spirit of stupor,
Eyes that they should not see
And ears that they should not hear,
To this very day.” (8)

Joseph went into his chamber to weep
Seeing his brother the second son of grace
Jesus’ pains and sorrows are certainly so deep
As His brothers see Him but fail to recognize His face

³¹ Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself, and said, “Serve the bread.”

His tears were more than he could excuse as an allergy or a passing fly getting stuck in his eye. He really lost it to the point where he had to wash his face and get himself composed. After which, he came out and gave the servants their orders – “Serve the bread.”

Bread in this context is inclusive of the whole meal. Bread, being the main staple, is used to represent everything else. It’s an expression still used today in some places, just as rice is used in this way elsewhere. The Lord’s Prayer is a good example of this.

III. The Son of Grace (32-34)

³² 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.

In the dining hall, there are at least three separate tables, or at least three areas for dining and maybe more tables. Joseph is set by himself certainly as a sign of his position and authority. But there is still another separation, that of the Egyptians and the Hebrews.

The Egyptians dining there may have been rulers and given high seating as well, though subordinate to Joseph. But regardless of their position, there is a separation because, as it says “every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”

Around the time of Joseph, a group of shepherd kings known as the Hyksos, invaded and almost ruined the land. Because of this, they held all shepherds in utter contempt.

Along with this, the ancient writer Herodotus said that “a native of Egypt will not kiss a Greek, use his knife, his spit, or his cauldron, or taste the flesh cut with a Greek knife.” To them all foreigners were unclean, and because of this, they refused to eat with them.

Their detestation of the Hyksos eventually permeated so much that the same attitude was displayed toward all foreigners. Though Joseph is Himself a foreigner by birth, his position dictated that the customs be upheld now and so the Bible notes it.

I would suggest that the separation in the meal, although interesting, is otherwise unnecessary unless it is telling us of a picture of something else. In Romans 14 and 15, Paul writes in detail about “disputable matters” including the eating of foods.

He expands on this in 1 Corinthians 8, speaking very clearly about the eating of certain foods and what is and isn’t allowed and what should and shouldn’t be done. As an all-encompassing note concerning these things, he says in Romans 14:23, “But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.”

As sin is an abomination to God, and as the brothers are picturing Israel still under the law, prior to accepting Christ, then they are still applying dietary restrictions which have been set aside in Christ. They are eating not from faith, but from obligation.

The separation of the meal in this verse then is a picture of this. The temple will stand, they will participate in the ritual offerings and meals, but they will not truly be eating with the Lord as we do in our communion.

Not until they recognize and accept Christ will they be in a true covenant relationship where the sharing of a meal is acceptable.
They are there, bowing to the Lord and serving the Lord, but they don’t realize who He is and what He has done. They are still trying to live out the law which He has already fulfilled.

³³ 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.

Without ever clueing in that their brother is the ruler of Egypt, he designates a seat at the table according to their age and status. It is his way of letting them know that he knows who they are and an extra confirmation that he has acknowledged Benjamin as their true brother as well.

When it dawns on them that they are seated in this particular arrangement, they are astonished. The fact is that they came from four mothers and some were born very close in time because of this. The chances of anyone guessing their age and birth order, particularly 11 of them in sequence, would be unimaginable.

And yet, he has done it. John Wesley writes this about this verse –

“He placed his brethren according to their seniority, as if he could certainly divine. Some think they placed themselves so according to their custom; but if so, I see not why such particular notice is taken of it, especially as a thing they marvelled at.”

There is always a reason for “such particular notice.” The Bible doesn’t waste words and it never introduces superfluous details. If there’s one thing that is evident from the previous 108 sermons, this is a certainty.

What seems an exacting parallel of the arrangement of the brothers in this verse is found in the sealing of the tribes of the sons of Israel in Revelation 7. Since the destruction of the temple in AD70, the tribe of each individual Jew is actually unknown and yet 12,000 are sealed from each tribe according to the list given there.

Though it seems impossible to truly determine who is who, nothing is impossible for God. Joseph has demonstrated a wisdom they didn’t realize and the Lord has all the wisdom that those who don’t know Him could fully grasp. The pattern is set and the sealing of the tribes will happen, just as the Bible records.

And moreover, it will happen during the tribulation period, a period of time which is actually being prefigured by the time of famine here in Genesis 43. It isn’t arbitrary, nor is it superfluous, instead it is a picture of the future, given in the distant past.

*³⁴ Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamin’s serving was five times as much as any of theirs.

Of all the scholars I study for each sermon, only Scofield hints at what we’ve already noted during several previous sermons. Benjamin as well as Joseph are types and pictures of Christ. I was so elated to see someone else come to this conclusion and they finally did so in this verse.

Unless there is someone else who sees the same type or picture, it’s like being out on a limb and wondering if it will break. Each picture is a continuous unfolding of what God is doing and will do in history. And so if one part of a picture is misinterpreted, then everything after it will have a flaw.

Seeing Scofield’s note was an assurance that the limb we are already out on concerning Benjamin was, in fact, not off base. Benjamin finally takes a prominent position in the story. It has been hinted at for a while, but now it becomes more than apparent. As Scofield says,

“Joseph is peculiarly the type of Christ in His first advent, rejection, death, resurrection, and present exaltation among the Gentiles, but unrecognized of Israel. As the greater Benjamin, ‘Son of sorrow,’ but also ‘Son of my right hand,’ He is to be revealed in power in the Kingdom.”

And this is exactly what we have been working towards since the introduction of Joseph. Through all of these stories, including that of Judah and Tamar, everything has continued to unfold in the exact pattern of the second exile of the people of Israel.

And the culmination of the stories has consistently pointed to Israel’s return, finding favor with God, the tribulation period, and eventually their recognition of Christ as Lord. It is a sweeping panorama of history which is exciting to see has been noted by someone else.

In the mentioning of Benjamin in this last verse of the day, something peculiar is brought into the story. It says “Benjamin’s serving was five times as much as any of” his brothers. There are six more times in the Egyptian stories that the number five is mentioned.

*In Genesis 41:34 it says, “Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years.”
*In Genesis 45:6, it says, “For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.”
*In Genesis 45:22, it says, “ He gave to all of them, to each man, changes of garments; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of garments.”
*In Genesis 47:2, it says, “And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.”
*In Genesis 47:24, it says, “And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh.”
*In Genesis 47:26, it says, “And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, except for the land of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh’s.”

In the Bible, and as is seen in these seven examples from the Egyptian years, the number five consistently is used to symbolize grace. In particular, it notes God’s gracious act of redemption. There is the three-fold mystery of the Godhead – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then there is the fourth mystery, Creation. And this is followed by the fifth mystery, Redemption.

The pattern of creation followed by redemption literally permeates the Bible. The Ten Commandments in Exodus are based on Creation. Those given in Deuteronomy are based on Redemption. The book of Revelation time and again uses this pattern as it unfolds it’s prophecies.

And the same is seen in the created man Adam and the redeeming Man, Christ. Now, this is noted in Benjamin who is given five times as much as his brothers at the meal. Joseph will continue to picture Christ, but he won’t be revealed to his brothers until they are willing to speak out for Benjamin – the son of the right hand.

Joseph grants five times as much food to Benjamin to show them that he is the favored brother even though he is the youngest. He is a son of Rachel, who consistently has pictured God’s grace. The grace bestowed upon him in the meal which is five times that of the brothers is hinting at this very thing.

Joseph is using an object lesson to instruct his brothers and God is using these stories to instruct us – Jew and Gentile alike. The entire time that Joseph has been removed from his brothers, Benjamin has been there. He, is the son of Rachel the lamb of grace.

Benjamin was called “Son of My Suffering” by Rachel and called “Son of My Right Hand” by Jacob. This same son has always been there with them but in the chapters ahead they will be faced with acknowledging him or losing him forever.

But what does it mean that Benjamin has always been there with them? How does this point to Israel of today? How could Jesus have been there with them without them recognizing it? The picture is seen in the Jew who carries the message of the church.

Which noted apostle was from the tribe of Benjamin? Paul, the apostle to the gentiles. And what is his consistent message? Grace. The grace of God in Jesus Christ to the gentile people. And not only Paul, but all Jews who have received Christ as Lord. Each is a faithful witness to the righteous remnant preserved by God.

This is what the brothers must defend and this is what Joseph is actually hinting at in this meal. Christ is Lord of all; Christ is the Son of the Right Hand; and Christ is the Son who suffered, fulfilling the law and granting us grace – all pictured by Benjamin.

And this is what Joseph is showing to his brothers, though they don’t yet understand it. The writings of Paul have been available to the Jewish people all along. He, from Benjamin, testifies to the Son of the Right Hand, Jesus. Israel will have to defend this truth in the future just as the brothers will have to defend Benjamin in the verses ahead.

Oh precious grace, beautiful and wonderfully sublime
Bestowed upon His children, though so unworthy of it
God’s grace is past measure, beyond space or time
Found in such great abundance when to Him they do submit

^34 (fin) So they drank and were merry with him.

The chapter finishes with these words. There was food and there was drink and they got drunk. The word for “and were merry” is v’yishkeru. It means to be intoxicated and is always used this way, either literally, or symbolically.

But, as happens routinely, translators and scholars inject personal thoughts into their theology and say that of course this one time the word doesn’t mean what it means. Why? Because these are the covenant sons of Israel and they would never, ever get drunk.

But let’s let the story be told as it has been given. The brothers had a great time, they got drunk, and they had a good meal. This is neither a verse which condones being drunk, nor does it indicate that anything was done wrong in their drinking.

It is a part of the unfolding events of the life and times of Joseph and his brothers, and it points to a time of great festivity in Israel, probably around the building of the temple in Jerusalem. They will be in the presence of the Lord, rejoicing, doing their thing, and not even aware of the nature of the Lord in whose presence they are.

Once again, we’ve arrived at the end of our verses and we’re left hanging about what the future holds for the brothers and for Joseph. But this is what the Bible does, it keeps us in suspense as to how it will all turn out. It shows us the overall picture, but it leaves out many details.

Like heaven itself, we only get a glimpse of what is coming, but it is coming. God has prepared a wondrous place of fellowship and delight for His people. It is offered freely to those who call on and receive Jesus. Without Him, there is no hope, but in Him there is the sure promise of eternal life. Please give me a moment to tell you how you too can share in this wondrous opportunity to be reconciled to God through Jesus…

Closing Verse: To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,… Ephesians 3:8

Next Week: Genesis 44:1-17 (The Cup and the Judgment) (110th Genesis Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you and He has a good plan and purpose for you. Call on Him and let Him do marvelous things for you and through you.

In the Presence of the Ruler

And when Joseph came home, to him they did bring
The present which was in their hand
Into the house they presented the thing
And bowed down before him to the earth as planned

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?” Please I beg you, do tell

And they answered, “Your servant our father
Is in good health; he is alive still
And they bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves
In this act, Joseph’s dream they did fulfill

Then he lifted his eyes to behold
And saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son
And said, “Is this your younger brother, that you told
Of whom you spoke to me? Is this the one?

And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son
I have been told of you, that you are the youngest one

Now his heart for his brother yearned
So Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep
And he went into his chamber, there he turned
And wept there with a mourning so deep

Then he washed his face and came out
And he restrained himself, and said
It’s time for a meal no doubt
It’s time to serve the bread

So in a place by himself, him they set
And them by themselves were set too
And the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves
All this because of the Egyptian’s worldview

Because the Egyptians could not eat food with the Hebrews
And for this there is a specific explanation
For to do so to them as Egyptians
Was considered an abomination

And before him the firstborn they sat
According to his birthright, believe it or not
And the youngest according to his youth, imagine that!
And the men looked in astonishment at the seating places they got

Then he took to them from before him each serving
But Benjamin’s serving was as much, times five
As any of theirs, as they were observing
So they drank and were merry with him, a good time to be alive

Again we see the life and times of Joseph unfold
In a marvelous display of pictures of Jesus
This is why these stories have been told
And why God so carefully detailed them for us

And so let us to each story and verse pay special heed
And search out the mysteries of Christ our Lord
In Him is wisdom and knowledge, it must be agreed
It is all about Jesus, God’s incarnate Word

How beautiful and precious is Your word O God
May we always cherish it as on this, your world, we trod

Hallelujah and Amen…

Genesis 43:15-25
Peace To You, Do Not Be Afraid

Introduction: Jeremiah 31:3 says this concerning Israel, “The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.”

There is the loving relationship which is seen throughout Scripture between the Lord and Israel. But there is also the truth that God cannot compromise His very nature, even for those He loves. God is not like a man where He changes or where He overlooks fault.

Every wrong must be judged, and every act of rebellion carries a cost. How God deals with these things is perfectly fair and yet it is always perfectly executed to bring about the most propitious outcome for the objects of His affection.

If we sin against God, our sin must be judged. But God has made it such that our sin can be judged in a perfect Substitute. And so our wrongs will either be judged in us or in Him, our Substitute, Jesus – but either way, they will be judged.

In order to bring His people Israel to the point where they realize this, He has had to refine them through the fire of time and exile. These punishments were told to them in advance, so they can’t claim that their treatment has been unfair.

And during the time of exile, any Jew, just like any Gentile, has had the opportunity to seek out Christ, come outside the camp, and bear His reproach individually. But national Israel, the collective group of people who bear that name, are treated differently. Yes, each must come to Christ, but collectively they must also do so.

There must be a national awakening before He will return to them to rule among them. In preparation for that time, God is working out His plans to bring them to the point where it will actually happen. And it isn’t an “if” but a “when.” The Bible is already written and it says it will come about.

Joseph is working out a plan in hopes of reconciliation with his brothers. This plan, and especially the words and terms used in the Bible, give us insights into how God is doing the same thing towards those he has loved with an everlasting love.

He is drawing them with chords of lovingkindness, woven into the fabric of human history, to bring them back to Him.

Text Verse: I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden riches of secret places,
That you may know that I, the Lord,
Who call you by your name,
Am the God of Israel.
⁴ For Jacob My servant’s sake,
And Israel My elect,
I have even called you by your name;
I have named you, though you have not known Me. Isaiah 45:3, 4

God spoke to Cyrus, the King of Persia, through the hand of Isaiah, telling him that He would give to him the treasures of darkness and the hidden riches of secret places. But then He tells why He was doing this. It was for the sake of Jacob; for Israel His elect people.

He used a pagan ruler to bless His people and return them to their land. He used him to fund the rebuilding of the temple of God in Jerusalem. And how did this come about? Isaiah wrote his words, naming Cyrus by name almost 200 years before he was born.

King Cyrus was read a copy of the scroll of Isaiah and when he heard that the Lord had called him this way, he responded in stunned awe – authorizing the rebuilding of the temple, exactly as the word spoke. The letter Cyrus wrote to approve the construction is so important that it’s recorded at the end of 2 Chronicles and again at the beginning of the book of Ezra.

Astonishingly, God used His word, spoken in advance of the occasion, to bring about the events of the future which His word predicted. And the same thing is hinted at in today’s passage. There is treasure in the sacks of the brothers of Joseph which points to the treasure which is hidden in God’s word about Israel’s future.

All they need to do is go to the word and search it out. When they do, the word will effect the changes that are predicted in the word. Yes, this is the immensity of what God has and continues to accomplish through His word. It’s all to be found there and so… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. A Second Trip to Egypt (15-18)

¹⁵ So the men took that present and Benjamin, and they took double money in their hand, and arose and went down to Egypt; and they stood before Joseph.

It might seem trivial, but the term “the men” ha’anashim was never used in the previous chapter. When speaking of the sons of Israel, they are either called just that – “the sons of Israel,” or pronouns are used about them like “we” or “they.”

In fact, because I was curious, I went back and checked and found that the only other time they have been called “the men” was in Genesis 34 when they found out that their sister Dinah was raped. No other instance of the term is applied to them since then. That was 23 sermons ago – almost 6 months of sermons.

But in this chapter, starting with this verse, they are called “the men.” They will be called this seven times before the chapter is out. It is as if the Bible is making the entire account as impersonal as possible concerning them. Every move they make is being evaluated with a cautious eye.

It’s as if a time of testing is being foreshadowed before they can again be considered a part of the covenant community. If you can see the connection between them here and the people of Israel now, it explains why the impersonal term is used about them.

What did Paul say about being a true Jew or not? We read his words in Romans 2 –

“For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; ²⁹ but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.” (28, 29)

The brothers have been alienated from Joseph while he has reigned over the land of gentiles. The Jews have been alienated from Jesus as He has built His gentile church. Now, these brothers are being readied for the unveiling of Joseph’s true status and Israel is being readied for the same in Jesus.

In Galatians 2, we see that God shows favoritism to no man. He is perfectly fair, perfectly righteous, and uncompromising in His very nature. The brothers are Joseph’s kin, but he is not going to accept them until he knows that they have truly had a change in heart.

And the Jewish people, Israel, are God’s covenant people. They are the blood kin of Jesus. But until they are right with Him, they will not be accepted by Him. This isn’t a cold and uncaring God. If He were, they would have been abandoned eons ago. He is the covenant-keeping, always faithful, and loyal Lord.

But He is also just, righteous, and holy. He cares enough to allow them to choose or reject, and He cares enough to refine them in the process, leading them to repentance and leading them back to Himself.

One is not a Jew who is one only outwardly
Nor is circumcision that which is in the flesh of the life they trod
He is a Jew who is one inwardly, in the heart and the Spirit
Whose praise is not from men, but from God

This story of Joseph is merely prefiguring the greater love story of Jesus working towards reconciliation with wayward Israel. Little terms like “the men” show us that there is an impartial evaluation going on.

In due time, they will have to prove their faithfulness as will Israel in the future. They are taking along a present and their brother Benjamin. They’re also bringing restoration money and more purchase money and they are heading to Egypt. There, they now stand before Joseph.

¹⁶ When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my home, and slaughter an animal and make ready; for these men will dine with me at noon.”

“When Joseph saw Benjamin…” His eyes fixed on his younger brother. They were told to either bring Benjamin or don’t come back, but they have brought him. With no comment to them at all, he simply instructs the steward to take “the men” ha’anashim, to his personal residence and slaughter an animal.

In Hebrew it says teboakh tebakh – “slay a slaying.” It is to be a great feast and not just a meal. Everything will be prepared as if for a banquet and the time is set for noon. The Hebrew for noon is much a more descriptive term than in English. The word is ba’tsahorayim – at the double lights.

In the heat of the day, at the double lights, when the sun is the strongest, the people would break and go indoors to have a meal.

¹⁷ Then the man did as Joseph ordered, and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house.

At one time, this was Joseph’s job. What the master of the house ordered, Joseph simply obeyed and performed his duty. Now Joseph is the one in authority, having risen from the lowly position of servant to the highest position in the land… sounds like Jesus.

And for the third time in three verses, the brothers are called ha’anashim, “the men.” Everything is as impersonal as it can be, not just from Joseph’s mouth, but from the perspective of the Bible itself. Instead of “them” or “they” we read “the men.”

There is an evaluation being made and we have been allowed to participate in it. The words used are selected for us to see it and pay attention and to learn from it. The words of Zechariah 13 reflect the evaluation that will come upon Israel in the future –

And it shall come to pass in all the land,”
Says the Lord,
“That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die,
But one–third shall be left in it:
⁹ I will bring the one–third through the fire,
Will refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
And I will answer them.
I will say, ‘This is My people’;
And each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’” (8, 9)

The brothers of Joseph are being tested, though they don’t know it yet. And the people of Israel will be tested as well. They will be refined and purified. They will be taken through the fire and those who survive the ordeal will be brought out, forgiven, and spotless.

The curious thing though is that the brothers didn’t know who Joseph was and they had nothing to hint to them about it, but Israel has it all clearly laid out in their Scriptures and they still don’t see it. None are truly so blind as those who simply refuse to open their eyes and look more closely at what is before them.

This is the astonishing thing about Israel today. If there is any evidence that there is a God and that He is continuing to work in history, it’s not the church; rather it’s Israel. That’s where the evidence lies. The church has divided, fallen away, and failed to live up to the great Name that established it.

On the other hand, Israel has remained throughout eons of persecution, they have had their ancient language reborn on the tongues of the people, they have been planted in God’s land once again. And all of this was predicted in advance, in detail. Even the church has in large part failed to see this.

And Israel has attributed their current state to Jewish greatness, luck, chance, whatever… but rare is the Jew who says, “The Bible showed it would happen and sure enough, the Bible was right.” Until they see the God who caused these things for who He is, they will continue to face difficult ordeals that the Bible says will come.

¹⁸ Now the men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph’s house;

Adam Clarke relays to us that, “A guilty conscience needs no accuser.” The Geneva Bible amends that a little bit and explains just Who their accuser really is. Speaking of the brothers, their commentary says, “So the judgment of God weighed on their consciences.”

God gives man a conscience and it will eat away at us slowly, but completely. The exception is the person who has allowed his conscience to become completely seared, but the sons of Israel are not at that point. Instead, they are facing the consequences of bad decisions of the past and their conscience is eating away at them.

They had considered what they did to Joseph the last time they were in Egypt and now they have the added burden that they didn’t turn back when they originally found the money in their sacks as they headed home. These things have them frightened because of the importance of the place they have been brought to.

They are shepherds and had always lived as shepherds. To stand in a large home, maybe for the first time in their lives, would be intimidating and unnatural. Their life has been spent in tents and in the open fields, not in plush mansions. It is an overwhelming situation for them which is exacerbated by events…

^{18 (con’t)} and they said, “It is because of the money, which was returned in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may make a case against us and seize us, to take us as slaves with our donkeys.”

The wisest course of action when they left the last time, though obviously a difficult one, would have been to return and mention the money immediately. But with Simeon in prison, they would have been scared to even do that. Here in this verse, they use a term we would be unfamiliar with.

We translate it as “he may make a case against us,” but what they say is, l’hithgolel aleinu – “that he may roll upon us.” It’s a metaphor which is taken from the sport of wrestling. When one person overturns the other, he will roll on top of him to pin him down. This is essentially what they are saying now.

They’re scared that because of the money, he could accuse them and leave the blame on them. In fact, as the ruler, he could turn them into slaves. Job uses this same term when speaking of his afflictions and the attitude of the people toward him –

“As through a wide breach they come: In the midst of the ruin they roll themselves upon me.” Job 30:14 (ASV)

The brothers are afraid they will be pounced upon, made into slaves, and even have their donkeys taken from them. As the donkeys are the only way of transporting the grain back to their family, it would be a complete calamity for the all of the covenant people, even those back in Canaan.

Lord, let not those who hate me roll upon me
Be my strength in this great battle of life
In You alone shall I trust and speak confidently
Only You can carry me through the times of strife

II. Resolving the Issue of the Money (19-22)

¹⁹ When they drew near to the steward of Joseph’s house, they talked with him at the door of the house,

The Bible notes here that they talked with the steward at the door of the house. It’s as if they want to convince him they’ve done nothing wrong, pay what they owe, and get away before Joseph comes. If they can resolve this now, even before entering the house, they could avoid what they fear when lunchtime arrives.

The door of the house is the last spot before they are consigned to their fate and so they linger there, and there they make their case.

²⁰ and said, “O sir, we indeed came down the first time to buy food;

In the Hebrew’s expressive way of explaining something, this verse literally says, bi adoni yarod yaradnu – “O sir, coming we came.” Repetitions like this are missed in the English translations and we lose some of the beauty of the dialogue.

Coming we came, O sir, to buy food
What transpired after that has us worried and in a fret
It was an event which truly soured our mood
And our conscience isn’t clear of it yet

“Coming we came to buy food when this side issue arose…”

²¹ 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.

So here they are getting the chance to explain how they ended up with the money they originally paid. And each time they use the word “sack” it’s a different word than what was originally used to describe the sack.

The word here is amtakhat and it’s only used 15 times in the Bible and all in this story between Genesis 42 and Genesis 44. The word comes from a root mathakh which means to spread out. Just as the sack is spread out to reveal the money, the story is spread out to reveal the hearts of the brothers.

Joseph is using the unfolding events to discern the condition of his brothers’ hearts, and in the same way, Jesus will use the unfolding events of the tribulation period to discern the spiritual condition of His people Israel. The Hebrew words within the text itself give us insights into how God deals with them.

What the brothers tell the steward now doesn’t really reveal everything though. They explain that they received all their money back and that they’ve brought it again to Egypt to make things right, but it doesn’t really prove they’re honest, just that they’re hungry and don’t want this to interfere with getting more food.

But next they show they’ve gone an extra step towards making things right…

²² And we have brought down other money in our hands to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.”

So not only did they bring the original money back, but they brought back more for the food they want to buy. And their explanation is that they have no idea how they got their original money back. They’ve done everything they can to convince this guy before Joseph shows up and holds a trial against them.

All they can do now is hope that their story will be accepted. They’ve told the truth and the story is so unlikely that they are either very poor liars or they are somehow actually telling the truth about what happened. This is a principle that Jesus will expand on in the New Testament. In Luke 12 He says –

⁵⁸ When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. ⁵⁹ I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite.” (58, 59)

III. Preparing For the Banquet (23-25)

²³ But he said, “Peace be with you, do not be afraid.

The steward of Joseph’s house has been taught both the customs of the Hebrews and to fear the true God. This verse shows us both. In response to the explanation given by the brothers, he uses the Hebrew term shalom lakhem – “peace to all of you.”

Shalom lekhem – Peace to you my friends – all is well
God is in control, there is nothing you need to worry about
The future is safe in His hands, surely you can tell
There is no need to fret, to worry, or to pout

The words shalom lekhem are given less as a greeting, which they also are, and more of a note of encouragement. In essence, he says, “Don’t sweat it. Don’t worry about it at all.” And then he proceeds to explain why as verse 23 continues…

^{23 (con’t)} Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money.”

In order for him to say this, he had to know who their God and the God of their father is. If nothing else, Joseph has schooled him in the matter and explained to his servant about the true God. And it is this God that has accordingly given them treasure.

In this, Joseph is an example to any believer in the true God. We can’t convert people to believe the truth, but we can at least tell them what the truth is. Whether it’s people we work for, work with, or who work for us.

Or whether it’s simply people we see from time to time, it’s our responsibility to at least let them know what we believe and why we believe it. Joseph took the time to do this for the steward in his house. With all of his other responsibilities, he took the time to share the good news.

And this steward now tells the brothers some good news, “Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks.” The thing is, that when they leave again with more grain, the money will again be put in their sacks along with something else.

The silver, or “treasure” as he calls it, actually pictures something else. The word is matmon and is described as a word which “portrays the preciousness of an item which is greatly desired.” It comes from a root word which has the “specific nuance of hiding by burial.” (HAW Theological Wordbook)

If the grain is picturing the word of God as we clearly saw it is in a previous sermon, then the silver is picturing that which is hidden in the word. Remember, the brothers are picturing Israel. They have the word, but they’ve missed what the word points to.

The treasure they have is, as the steward says, from your God and the God of your father. He has given them this treasure in His word and the treasure is in the amtakhat, that unusual word for “sack.” The treasure is discovered when the word is “spread out.”

It is all about Jesus, and Israel has been given this treasure. It is something they cannot buy, but which is offered to them freely. The connection here shouldn’t be missed. Jesus is there, everywhere in it, if they would simply look.

Since we started these Genesis sermons, we have uncovered hundreds if not thousands of hidden references to Christ; treasure in our sacks. And Israel simply needs to look, understand, and accept. God is preparing them for their meeting with the Lord. It’s all seen in these unusual words that keep popping up in the story.

And so the steward finishes his explanation with the words, kaspekhem ba elai, “your money comes to me.” This isn’t a lie, he did get the money and he simply refrains from telling them that after it was received it was also returned to their sacks.

^{23 (con’t)} Then he brought Simeon out to them.

Finally, in this verse as a tangible evidence that everything will be ok, Simeon is returned to the brothers. This had to be the biggest relief of all because if the intention was to arrest them, they would have left him in prison. But instead, he is brought out to join them.

Simeon means “He who hears.” It is almost time for the brothers to hear the truth of the situation and it is almost time for Israel to hear the truth of what they have missed for so long.

²⁴ 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.

With the matter of the money and their brother Simeon resolved, the steward brings them into the house. But once again, the Bible calls them ha’anashim, “the men.” The Bible is continuing to make an impersonal evaluation of them as it seeks to reveal their heart and motivations.

But, what they had only a moment ago feared and tried to stave off is now a welcome gesture as they stop to wash their feet while the steward fed their donkeys. Water is brought to them to prepare them for a relaxing and enjoyable meal in Joseph’s house.

The washing of their feet is equivalent to us taking someone’s hat and coat and telling them to relax. The roads were dirty and the traveling was tiring and so to have water to wash up was to make a guest welcome and comfortable for their visit.

To neglect this would be considered a breach of etiquette and is something that’s actually seen in the Gospel of Luke. For a short diversion to read some of the New Testament, let’s take a moment to look at that memorable account –

³⁶ Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. ³⁷ And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, ³⁸ and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. ³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.” ⁴⁰ And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” So he said, “Teacher, say it.” ⁴¹ “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”
⁴³ Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” ⁴⁴ Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. ⁴⁵ You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. ⁴⁶ You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. ⁴⁷ Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” ⁴⁸ Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Luke 7:36-48

²⁵ Then they made the present ready for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they would eat bread there.

The present that their father had put together before they left is brought out and made ready for the arrival of Joseph. This included balm, honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. These were the best of the fruits of the land and would be a worthy gift even to the king.

And so they prepare for noon when they will dine with the great ruler of the land of Egypt. The waiting must have made them anxious as they tried to anticipate what would transpire in the hours ahead.

This is where the passage ends today. Next week, we’ll finish chapter 43 and we will come closer to the brother’s date with the destiny which Joseph is planning for them. They still have some interesting trials to go through before he is revealed to them, but the same is true with Israel.

Individually, Jews are coming to Christ daily, but as a people, it is just a small portion who have had their eyes opened. There is a future meeting coming between them when they will have their collective eyes opened to the truth. Until then, we need to continue to pray for Israel.

But Christ isn’t just the Lord of a nation, He is the Lord of individuals. No country has title to Him and no denomination has a claim on Him. He is the Lord who needs to be approached individually. And it must be with empty hands and open hearts.

We cannot buy our way into heaven, nor can we earn our eternal home through good deeds. The only way to be reconciled to God is through faith in the work of Jesus. Let me tell you about how you too can have the assurance of eternal life and pardon from sin…

Closing Verse: Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, ¹⁸ while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Next Week: Genesis 43:26-34 (Rejoicing in the Presence of the Ruler) (109th Genesis Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you and He has a good plan and purpose for you. Call on Him and let Him do marvelous things for you and through you.

Peace To You, Do Not Be Afraid

So the men took that present and Benjamin
And they took double money in their hand
And arose and went down to Egypt
And they stood before Joseph just as planned

When Joseph saw Benjamin with them
To the steward of his house he said
Take these men to my home
And slaughter an animal and make ready our daily bread

For these men will dine with me at noon
Prepare things now, the time is coming soon

The man did as Joseph ordered then
And into Joseph’s house he brought the men

Now the men were more than a bit distraught
Because into Joseph’s house they were brought

And they said, “It is because of the money we have this fuss
Which was returned in our sacks the first time
That we are brought in so that he may make a case against us
To seize and take us as slaves with our donkeys for this perceived crime

When near to the steward of Joseph’s house they drew
They talked with him at the door of the house as their fear grew

And said, “O sir, we indeed came down
The first time to buy food from here
That it happened, when we came to the encampment
That we opened our sacks, and behold, what did appear

And there, each man’s money was in the mouth of his sack
Our money in full weight
So in our hand we have brought it back

And we have brought down other money
In our hands to buy food, so we have no lacks
And to us the matter wasn’t funny
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 have not gone unpaid
I had your money, please about this matter don’t bother

Then he brought out to them Simeon
And alleviated their worries, now there was none

So into Joseph’s house he brought the men
And gave them water as a friendly deed
And they washed their feet there and then
And he also 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
And the time was approaching soon

The Bible continues to show in each story
The wonderful details of redemption and grace
Every word points to the majestic glory
Of God’s plan to restore us to the favor of His face

Lord, help each of us to want to know you more every day
And help us to walk in the noble and righteous way

May we not depart from seeking out the treasures of Your word
And pursuing You through fellowship and prayer
By these things may we bring glory to our Lord
Until we are brought to You in the heavenly palace over there

Hallelujah and Amen…

Genesis 43:1-14
A Difficult Decision for Israel

Introduction: Joseph was sold by his brothers in Genesis 37. It is now about 22 years later and in all of that time, and until chapter 42, Jacob is never discussed nor mentioned. In chapter 42, the sum events of his recorded life are no more than a few words.

But it’s already evident that the loss of Joseph was never forgotten by him. He has refused to allow Benjamin to go to Egypt even at the expense of another of his sons. But now the food is running low and his decisions will affect not just Benjamin, but the entire family. He can no longer stubbornly refuse to act.

If desperation in God’s people is what it takes for God to move them, then desperation is what He will send. Israel today is still stubbornly refusing to accept His leadership. Whether some in Israel are religious, whether some in Israel have called on Jesus, it is irrelevant to the greater plans spoken of in the Bible.

As a collective whole they must call on Him as Lord and acknowledge His Lordship. This isn’t a New Testament concept either, but one which travels all the way through the Bible. He has called them and they must acknowledge that. There is Jacob the man of flesh and there is Israel who is spiritually tied to His God.

There is the whole nation of people who strive with God – either for Him or against Him, but they strive with Him. There has been exile and punishment, but the future says there will be restoration and exaltation. In order to bring about the anticipated meeting between Jacob and Joseph, God sent a famine.

And in order to bring about a meeting between Jesus and Israel, God will send the time of Jacob’s trouble. The New Testament calls it the tribulation. The people will be refined and they will call out and He will respond. The story of Jacob here follows that same path, foreshadowing the events of the future.

Text Verse: I have done justice and righteousness;
Do not leave me to my oppressors.
¹²² Be surety for Your servant for good;
Do not let the proud oppress me. Psalm 119:121, 122

The psalmist cried out to the Lord concerning his integrity and asking for relief from his oppressors. In doing so, he asks the Lord to be his surety, his pledge of covenant faithfulness. Jacob has fretted and anguished over the oppressors of chance and circumstance – harsh and oppressive foes whom he cannot control.

Today, he is going to have to let go of his fears and put his trust back in the God who made personal promises to him time and again in years past. He is going to have to petition Him for mercy while at the same time acknowledging that God is God and we are utterly dependent on Him for every thing that that comes our way.

The sovereignty of God is something we cannot ignore in the pages of the Bible, and therefore, something we cannot ignore in the world around us. No matter what foe or oppressor we face, real or imagined, we can only place our trust and cares in His capable hands. This is that great truth that we discover in His word. And so… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Severe Famine and a Shortage of Food (1-5)

Now the famine was severe in the land.

The Bible has an amazing way of telling us something will happen and then showing the fulfillment of it. Sometimes, what we might think is the fulfillment, isn’t the fulfillment at all, usually because of the translation into English. And what we might think of as unimportant is actually more important than we thought.

Chapter 43 begins with the words, “Now the famine was severe in the land.” Chapter 41 ended with the words, “So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands.” Looking at these two, you’d think it was saying the same thing, but it’s not.

Here is why it’s important. Earlier in chapter 41, when interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams, Joseph said this to Pharaoh –

“So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe.” (31)

When Joseph said that, he used the words khaved hu meod – it will be “very heavy.” But at the end of chapter 41 it said hazaq ha’raav. This means that the famine had strengthened or grown strong, but it wasn’t the crushing burden that Joseph had said was coming.

When the strengthening famine came, Jacob sent his sons to Egypt for food and that made up all of chapter 42. Now other than Simeon, they’re all back in Canaan for a while. And it doesn’t tell us how long its been because that doesn’t matter. What matters is that whether a few weeks or a few months, the famine hasn’t just strengthened, it has become heavy, a crushing burden.

It now uses the same word to describe the famine that Joseph said would come about. Why is this important? It’s important because Jacob has to face reality because of the famine. If the famine weren’t so severe, Simeon may have been left to rot in jail forever … Poor Simeon. Jacob may have found some other way to work things out back in Canaan.

But with the famine now in its full force, he no longer has that choice. And why is that important? It’s important because God showed in advance that it would be that way. And so then, why is that important? The reason why all of this is important is because God has a plan and in order to make that plan happen, He has arranged everything to have an exact and intended effect.

In Acts 17, it says, “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, ²⁷ so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us…” (26, 27)

Every person is in exactly the place and time that God wants them and which He knew is the opportune time and place for them to seek Him out. What we see as arbitrary, actually has a purpose. Your car didn’t start and you get angry, but if you had left on time, you would have hit the guy on the bicycle who swerved to miss the lizard that ran in front of him.

You find a quarter on the sidewalk and, if you’re like me, you’re all excited and put it in your pocket. The quarter was dropped by someone sneezing because of their flu. Later you get the flu and are miserable, but you’re home. You look out the window and your neighbor falls off the ladder while cleaning the gutters and he hits the concrete.

You call the paramedics and they come and save the guy. They tell you that he would have died without your call. Things like this happen all the time. Nothing is random with God. The famine has gone from strong to heavy and Jacob has choices to make.

The economy is falling apart and we have choices to make. Our health insurance is cancelled and now what do we do? We get frustrated and we get upset, but it all keeps showing purpose. I don’t believe anything is arbitrary. If it is, then what is the purpose of life?

My wife and I watched the Ken Burns documentary on the Civil War a while ago. If the word “arbitrary” describes what happens around us, then think of those hundreds of thousands of people that died in battle – some of them as young as 13. Unless there is a purpose for every single one of them, then those gruesome pictures show a very uncaring God.

And that’s just one war in a line of wars, plagues, natural disasters, and horrifying accidents that reaches all the way back to the beginning of human existence. As Paul says, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” It just doesn’t matter…

If “arbitrary” is a part of our human existence, then Christ may have come or He may not have come. Thank goodness Mary didn’t catch some flu bug and die before she had Jesus. Nothing is arbitrary. So as you go about your day, don’t be afraid to keep seeing His hand in everything that happens.

It all has meaning. Jacob either never really understood this, or he has forgotten it. He is now a man who is overwhelmed with the events around him. Where there should be trust and faith, there is the man afraid of how things will turn out.

Philippians 4 gives us the remedy for what ails Jacob –

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (6, 7)

Now the famine was severe in the land
And Jacob is forced to finally act
He has failed to see in this God’s divine and purposeful hand
And this is because his faith has slacked

 Remember the Lord, Jacob… He is right there with you
This is the thing that God asks you to do

² And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.”

The time has come where the duration and immensity of the famine has once again brought the household to an immediate need. Nothing has grown and the food has been eaten up to the point where Egypt is the only option left.

The grain is almost gone, but he doesn’t tell them to get more grain. Instead, he tells them to go back and buy a little food. Don’t misunderstand, the grain is the food, but grain can also be used for planting. Last time when he sent them, it was to buy grain.

Maybe they would eat some, maybe plant some. This time, it will only be used as food; they simply need to survive and nothing more. The words for “grain” and “food” are being used synonymously in one way, but they are also being used to show a distinction.

Joseph did the same thing in chapter 41 when speaking to Pharaoh. There he said, “And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities.”

He said “grain” and “food” synonymously. The grain is food because it will be good for nothing else. It won’t grow during those seven years of famine. Jacob finally has to face the inevitable, but instead of facing it directly, he will try to get around it.

³ But Judah spoke to him, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’

At the end of the last chapter, it was Reuben who tried to convince Jacob that Benjamin was needed. He said to Jacob, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.” That didn’t work and Jacob refused.

Judah now steps forward. He is the one in line for the birthright because his three older brothers all committed offenses which removed them from that right. Now he, in this position, reminds Jacob what came about in Egypt.

He says they were given a solemn warning – ha’ed he’id, “did warn, solemnly warn” that without Benjamin, they were not to come back. It would be pointless to even try and certainly life-threatening if they did. Which leads to verse 4…

⁴ If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food.

If Benjamin is with them, they will go down to buy food. The people will eat, the family will survive, and there is always the prospect of a future… if Benjamin will go too.

⁵ But if you will not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’”

But… if no Benjamin, no go. He speaks in a way which will preempt Jacob from coming up with some other scenario. There is none which will work in this instance. Either Benjamin goes, or there will be no meeting with Joseph. He will not get around God’s word.

It’s a good time to stop and remember who these each represent. Joseph pictures Christ the Lord. The brothers picture the people of Israel, all the tribes. Judah is the tribe of Judah but who speaks collectively for the Jewish people today. Benjamin is Christ and those Jews in Christ.

Without Jesus, we cannot approach the Lord
It doesn’t really matter what we like or choose to believe
Only Jesus can save as is recorded in His word
Only Jesus can wash our sins and only He our burdens can relieve

II. Judah Will Bear the Burden (6-10)

⁶ And Israel said, “Why did you deal so wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you had still another brother?”

Five times in the last chapter, the name Jacob was used. The name Israel was used only when speaking of the sons, not the man. Now in this chapter, Jacob is never used and Israel is used three times. The last time the name Israel was used for Jacob the man was back in chapter 37 when he sent Joseph up to look for the other brothers.

In that chapter, 15 sermons ago, Joseph left the family circle and now he may lose Benjamin as well. There is Jacob and there is Israel. There is reliance on self and there is reliance on God. There is each of us… are we walking in the Spirit or walking in the flesh?

The Bible is asking us to look at this man and decide how we will conduct our own lives. He is already a member of the covenant community, but will he live as a faithful one or not. And you? How will you act when adversity looks you in the face? Where is your trust? Jacob is going to now have to trust God.

He asks, “Why did you deal so wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you had still another brother?” It is his note that he knows Benjamin must go, even though he doesn’t actually say it yet. The irony is almost dripping from the moment.

“He who is my only hope of holding on to the past is now my only hope of having a future.” And though he doesn’t know it, the one who he is so afraid of losing is the only one who can bring him back to the presence of the one he believes he has lost. Irony abounds.

⁷ But they said, “The man asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we told him according to these words. Could we possibly have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”

The man asked and they answered. It never would have dawned on them that one thing would lead to another. There was no evil intent in what they said, just matter of fact questions and answers. He also asked about their father and they answered accordingly.

How could they possibly know that he would ask for Benjamin to come down? He didn’t ask for Jacob to come down. It is all just the way it turned out and the fault can’t be placed on them.

⁸ Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones.

With the explanation complete, he makes his petition again and gives the reason for it clearly and completely – “Send him with me and we will go. This involves our very lives and the lives of the children. Benjamin needs to go.”

What actually makes this surprising is that Benjamin is upwards of 30 years old by this point. It’s not like he’s a little boy anymore. This shows the obedience of the family to their father and the immense passion Jacob still feels even after all the years since Rachel’s death.

⁹ I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.

In chapter 37, Judah is the one who recommended selling Joseph when he was in the pit. In chapter 38, he was the one who traded his signet, cord, and staff for a tryst with a prostitute. In both of those pictures, Judah pictured the Jewish people.

Now this same Judah offers himself as the pledge for Benjamin. The situation is completely reversed from what it once was. Again, if there’s anything we can learn from things like this, it is that God’s divine favor isn’t dependent on our past, but on our present.

The things we’ve done can’t be changed. If our past is all that God judges us on, then when would there ever be a time that we could get right with Him? It would never happen! In other words, there is no thing that you have done that will keep God from forgiving you because there is always right now.

Only when “right now” ends at your death is the chance lost. God is always extending His hand out to you. And as a demonstration of that, he says that if he doesn’t bring Benjamin back, then let me bear the blame forever. In Hebrew, v’khatati lekha kal hayammim, “I shall be a sinner against you all the days.” I make myself liable as a sinner forever.

Benjamin is the key. If you have Benjamin all is good. If you have the Son of the Right Hand then God is on your side. Stop dwelling on your past and look to the future. If God forgives you for your past, then your past is forgiven. After that, the only bonds on you are the ones you impose.

Be freed from your guilt, you are free from your sin
Jesus washed it all away on Calvary’s cross
Look forward now, forgetting what is past because of Him
Don’t fret and have another moment of loss

Eyes on Jesus! Fix them on your eternal life ahead
Because of Him you too have been raised from the dead

¹⁰ For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time.”

Two things can be inferred from this short verse. The first is that of a mild scold to Jacob. “If you had let us go when we asked, we would have returned from the second trip already. Time is wasting, stop being so stubborn.” The second is exactly the opposite.

“If you had let us go when we asked, we would have returned from the second trip already. Benjamin will be fine, stop worrying.”

III. A Present for Pharaoh (11-14)

¹¹ And their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and carry down a present for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds.

Proverbs 18:16 says –

“A man’s gift makes room for him,
And brings him before great men.”

Solomon may have remembered this story when he wrote that. Israel is looking to pacify the ruler and to show that what the sons told him originally was true. If they were spies, they could bring anyone along and claim he was their brother.

But going the extra step was intended to convince him that they had been straight with him all along. It was also a gift to pacify him before they dealt again over whatever matters would arise. This worked for Jacob when he finally met up with his estranged brother Esau many years before.

Before meeting him, he sent a sequence of extravagant gifts to him in order to soothe any continuing bitterness. And it worked. Esau met him with hugs and kisses. He is hoping this gift now will bring about peace as well. And so he tells them to take along six special things, balm, honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds.

Sending along something like this would be all the more special considering that with the famine as harsh as it is, it would be that much less for them to eat if things got worse. It is truly a gift of faith, regardless of the size or amount of the gift.

¹² Take double money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight.

Jacob’s instructions to “take double money” can mean one of two things. In Hebrew, it says “money of a second.” So it could mean the same amount as the first time, not twice as much as the first time. Or, it could mean twice as much as the first time.

If he meant “double” then he may want them to buy more than the first time, or he may have expected the cost to have risen because the famine has continued. I always assumed it was the same amount as they took the first time, but people debate…

Along with that money though, he tells them to take back the original money too, thinking that the return of the money may have been an oversight. He uses a word, mishgeh, which isn’t found anywhere else in the Bible. It means “something caused to wander” which implies “a mistake.” It was an unintentional oversight.

This reminds us of what is said in Acts 3:17 concerning Peter’s words to the Jews concerning their crucifixion of Christ, “I know you did this in ignorance.”

¹³ Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man.

What was implicit before is now explicit, Benjamin will go. The future keeps unfolding in the present and there is nothing we can do to stop it. We can wring our hands, fret and stamp our feet, but time keeps moving forward. At times like this, we’re much more fortunate than Jacob.

He was an ancestor of Jesus and had personal dealings with Jehovah, but he lacked the wise words that we can refer to anytime we start to forget that it will all work out. When Jesus came, He told us this –

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. ²³ Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? ²⁵ And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? ²⁶ If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ²⁸ If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?” Luke 12:22-28

And Paul gives us a briefer, but equally important, insight into the things we can’t control –

“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. ²⁹ For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. ³⁰ Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” Romans 8:28-30

God cares for the birds and he has clothed mere grass in unparalleled beauty. And even more, He has wisely taken everything that happens and woven it together into a tapestry of goodness for His called people.

His child who died on the battlefield of Antietam was already glorified in His mind before the rifle bullet ended his life. Nothing is random chance with God.

¹⁴ And may God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin.

El Shaddai, God Almighty, has been named only four times so far in Genesis. The first was when He spoke to Abraham in chapter 17 at the time of the covenant of circumcision. Then in chapter 28 when Isaac blessed Jacob before he went away, he blessed him using the name El Shaddai.

After that in Genesis 35, El Shaddai appeared to Jacob at Bethel. In each of those accounts, a blessing for fruitfulness and a multitude of descendants is promised or pronounced. Now, as a hope that those blessings include Simeon and Benjamin, Jacob invokes the name once again.

“May this great God who made these promises to our people and to me personally show us this mercy.” He is placing his trust in the providence of God to restore to him those whom he has lost. And in fact he has already lost both Simeon and Benjamin. The moment they left they were lost.

The moment our children walk out the door for the school bus, they are, in essence lost to us. The last time we saw someone was the last time because we no longer see them. There are no guarantees that the separation won’t be permanent.

We don’t normally think this way, but eventually everything has a last time. Jacob’s calling on El Shaddai is for mercy that this loss won’t be permanent. But God is God and Jacob has now faced that. And in acknowledgement of it, he says…

^{14 (con’t)} If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!”

Adam Clarke translates this as “and I, as I shall be childless, so I shall be childless.” When the sons walk out the door, he will in fact be childless. “If God decides that is how it shall be, then that is what I must accept.”

There are things that are simply beyond our control and all we can do is petition God and wait on His answer. Esther realized this before she had to face the king over the preservation of the Jews. It was this same attitude of resignation to forces beyond her control that she said this to Mordecai –

“Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” Esther 4:16

And the young man went off to battle, hugging his mom and kissing his little sister. “If I return, I know not, but God does.”

There are few real assurances in life and so when one comes along, we should hold onto it, even cling to it. Of those few available assurances, the one that matters most is found tied up in the same God whom Jacob just petitioned, God Almighty.

He is the one who sits on heaven’s throne and superintends over the spinning of billions of galaxies. And yet, He also watches over the souls of men. The God who cares about the flitting sparrow cares much more about the destiny of those souls. He cared enough to send His Son to restore us to harmony with Him. Let me tell you how He did that…

Closing Verse: Like a swallow or a crane, so did I chatter; I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward; O LORD, I am oppressed, be thou my surety. Isaiah 38:14 (ERV)

Next Week: Genesis 43:15-25 (Peace To You, Do Not Be Afraid) (108th Genesis Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you and He has a good plan and purpose for you. Call on Him and let Him do marvelous things for you and through you.

If I Am Bereaved, I Am Bereaved

Now the famine was severe in the land
Things in Canaan weren’t lookin’ too grand

And it came to pass, when…
They had eaten up the grain
Which they had brought from Egypt, then
Their father said to them, “Buy us a little food, Go back again.”

But Judah spoke to him, he did express
Saying, “The man solemnly spoke
You shall not see my face unless
Your brother is with you. This is no joke

If you send our brother with us, that is good
We will go down together and buy you food

But if you will not send him along
We will not go down; this we will not do
For the man said to us, in a manner strong
You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you

And Israel said, “Why did you deal
So wrongfully with me as to tell another
To the man why did you squeal?
Whether you had still another brother?”

But they said, “The man asked us with care
About ourselves and our kin
Asking, ‘Is your father still alive over there
Have you another brother?’ Tell me therein

And according to these words him we told
Could we possibly have known
That he would say, as from his tongue the words rolled
“Bring your brother down, let him be shown

Then Judah said to his father Israel
“Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go
That we may live and not die as you know well
Both we and you and our little ones also

I myself for him will be surety
From my hand you shall require him, I the guarantee

If I do not bring him back to you and him before you set
Then let me bear the blame forever
You shall never forget

For if we had not lingered it’s true
By now we would have returned this second time to you

And their father Israel to them spoke
“Then do this if it must be so
Take some of the best fruits of the land to that bloke
In your vessels, carry down a token and go

A little balm and a little honey
Spices and myrrh take along too
And some pistachio nuts and almonds
Take these for the journey, this you shall do

Take double money in your hand
And take back in your hand the money
That was returned in the mouth of your sacks
Perhaps it was an oversight, but it seems kind of funny

Take your brother also, and arise
Go back to the man, do as I advise

And may God Almighty give you mercy…
Before the man, that he may release
Your other brother and Benjamin
So that this difficult ordeal will finally cease

If I am bereaved, I am bereaved
If my son dies my heart will be forever grieved

God sent His Son on a mission too
But He knew the outcome from the start
And still He sent Jesus for me and you
To show us the depth of the love in His heart

This is the love of God in Christ our Lord
And the beauty of the good news for each of us
There we see it recorded in His superior word
The marvelous majesty of our King, Jesus

And so with a song of thanks and praise
Let us hail our great God for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

Genesis 42:29-38
Not Thinking Clearly in the Land of Canaan

Introduction: Many of the verses we’ll look at today are a recapitulation of what we’ve already seen. But we’ll also see Jacob’s response to them. This is a man who has seen the Lord at least three times and has heard from him even more than that.

If any person could claim, “Hey, I know the Lord is on my side…” it should be Jacob. Quite possibly the most intimate encounter with the Lord in all of the Old Testament was with Jacob as they wrestled in the night by the Jabbok River. He beheld the face of God in the form of the Man and he prevailed as they fought.

And yet, in today’s verses, it’s as if he had lived his life entirely apart from God. The Lord has never been mentioned in this chapter and the word “God” has been used only twice. Once it was by Joseph. The second time was by Jacob’s son’s questioning why God allowed something bad to happen to them.

Not only did Jacob fail to see God’s hand in these events of his life, but he also failed to teach his children that the events of their lives were being directed by God for their good. This is a portion of Scripture which demonstrates abject failure and a complete lack of faith in the providence of God by God’s people. What can we learn from it about our own lives?

Text Verse: You have laid me in the lowest pit,
In darkness, in the depths.
⁷ Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
And You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah Psalm 88:6, 7

This psalmist, like Jacob, was laid in a low pit and felt the heavy wrath of the Lord upon him. But there is a difference between the two. Instead of whining about it, he talked to the Lord about it. Despite the horrors which engulfed him, he still found it possible to talk to the Lord through the trouble.

Jacob, despite being God’s chosen man, still has a way to go in the development of his faith and of his walk. It is from the Bible that we learn how to do these things. His Superior Word is what guides us on this path and so let’s turn to it again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Recounting the Journey (29-34)

²⁹ Then they went to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying:

In the curious way the Bible does these things, the name “Jacob” is used five times in this chapter. The only time the name “Israel” is used is when speaking of the sons of Israel. In the next chapter though, the name Israel will be used three times and the name Jacob won’t be used at all.

There is Jacob, the deceiver who is also deceived. And then there is Israel who struggles with God. Jacob is still deceived concerning his son Joseph and he has no hope of seeing him again. And as we’ll see through the end of this chapter, he is unwilling to let Benjamin go back to Egypt to rescue the family.

It is Jacob, the man of flesh and blood, who is lost in the life of this world. And it is to him that the sons now return. Although it’s not always easy to tell the difference, observing why the names Jacob or Israel, or both, are used is always a help in seeing what is going on in the life of the man and the pictures they point to concerning the people Israel.

To their father Jacob, they now take time to explain the details of their long trek south to the land of Egypt…

³⁰ “The man who is lord of the land spoke roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.

The way the Hebrew is constructed in their sentence to Jacob emphasizes their feelings concerning the harsh treatment they received. “Spoke the man, lord of the land, with us hard things.” Included in those “hard things” was the accusation that they were spies, something they refuted.

³¹ But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies.

This is exactly what happened. Just as things occurred in Egypt, so they are telling their father now.

³² We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan.’

And again, this is exactly how it happened with the exception of mentioning the missing brother first and then the youngest being with their dad in Canaan next. They have exactly repeated their conversation with Joseph.

I would suggest that the significance of the ten brothers not being able to satisfy the lord of Egypt, who happens to be Joseph, is that it pictures the current way that Jewish believers think they are able to sanctify God in their rituals. What does that mean?

They have a requirement that 10 people are needed in order to make what is known as a minyan, or an assembly. This comes from a precept known as the gezerah shavah. According to this rule the gezerah shavah teaches … that an “assembly” must be present when G‑d is being sanctified.” (chabad.org)

What they mean by God being sanctified includes, for example, the public reading of the Torah – their Bible. The public reading of the Bible to us would be forbidden under this precept without at least 10 people present. Continuing on in their explanation they say this shows –

“… a great truth: the power of each individual Jew. There can be a group of nine of the greatest Jews, men who complete all of the commandments and understand the depths of the Torah’s secrets, yet they do not have the ability to complete a minyan on their own. However, add to the group the simplest Jew, someone who perhaps cannot properly read his prayer nor does he really understand what he is saying, yet when he walks into the room he has now transformed the entire group and made them complete—a minyan. It is because of him that they are now able to recite those parts of the prayer that can be read only with a minyan. Never underestimate the potential of the individual Jew.”

This is standard Jewish thought concerning approaching God. But I believe this pictures why the brothers were not accepted by Joseph. It is to show us that this belief is not acceptable. As a Christian and a believer in the finished work of Jesus, we can stand alone with Him and be acceptable before God.

We don’t need numbers of ten, a thousand, or a million. When we stand with Christ, we are in right standing with God. The reason I brought this up now is because these brothers, standing before Joseph, picture the Jewish people, and specifically the leaders of the tribes, still not recognizing their Lord.

As a group, the brothers were unable to satisfy Joseph. And the same is true with the minyan in synagogues to this day. Until they stand with, and acknowledge Christ, they cannot be pleasing to God. Thus, there is the need for Benjamin among them. There is the need for the Son of the Right Hand, Jesus, among the Jews.

We need to keep looking at theses verse in the context of the church age. Joseph’s brothers picture the tribes of Israel. Joseph pictures the Lord. During the church age, the brothers are separated from Joseph just as Israel is still separated from Him. That will end in the chapters ahead in Genesis and that will end in the days ahead. After the rapture, Jesus and Israel will meet and be reunited.

Some wonderful day Israel will receive their King
They will call on Him and to them he will be seen
The glorious moment will cause Israel to sing
And all the world will marvel at the glorious scene

³³ Then the man, the lord of the country, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for the famine of your households, and be gone.

In this, they don’t tell the whole story. They left out what originally happened. At first all of them were to be imprisoned and one would go to Canaan. After three days in prison, only one was left and the rest were allowed to go. And they only said that the brother was left in Egypt, not that he was bound in prison.

You can almost hear their conversation before getting home, “Dad will be so upset. We’d better not tell him what happened or he’ll flip his lid.” So instead of giving all of the bad details, they tell him the truth without giving all of the information.

Whether it was out of fear or whether it was out of respect for dad, they have been honest and yet circumspect in what they’ve shared. Most probably, they anticipated what Jacob’s reaction would be concerning the youngest son, Benjamin.

If he knew everything that happened to them, he would be even less likely to send them back to Egypt. And this is exactly the bad news they will now share with him…

³⁴ And bring your youngest brother to me; so I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. I will grant your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’”

This returns to what Joseph said to them when he told them what they were to do –

“By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. ¹⁶ Send one of you, and let him bring your brother; and you shall be kept in prison, that your words may be tested to see whether there is any truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!” Genesis 42:15, 16

With an oath, he vowed that without producing Benjamin, they will be counted as spies, not honest men. With Benjamin, they will have free access to trade. Benjamin, is the key to their survival.

And the same is true with Israel. Someday, Israel is going to be completely isolated in the world. There will be a peace agreement and this will eventually be broken by the antichrist. They will have no defender but the Lord and it will be when they call on Him that He will return and fight for them.

The relationship between Israel and Jesus didn’t end in AD70. It was put on hold during their time of exile. God has and He will remain faithful to them. Reconciliation is coming between Joseph and the brothers and it is coming between Jesus and Israel. Benjamin, meaning Son of the Right Hand, is key to both.

II. Ye of Little Faith (35, 36)

³⁵ Then it happened as they emptied their sacks, that surprisingly each man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.

The brothers already knew the money had been returned. One of them found the money in his sack and later, when they go back to Egypt, they’ll admit that they all found it in their own sacks while at the camp. You kind of have to put yourself in their place.

They traveled at least a day before finding the money. They were already overdue, having traveled probably a week, been in prison for a few days, and then on their way back home. Do they return to repay the money or do they go on home? And if they told their dad, no matter what they did, he’d be upset.

So, instead of making the situation worse in either way, they continued on home and didn’t say anything about the money until they were there.

³⁶ And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are against me.”

Jacob seems to imply that he knows that what happened with Joseph is the brother’s fault, but it could simply his old age and weakening emotions. Whatever his state, he now demonstrates a continued lack of faith. The mortal flesh and blood man has forgotten about God’s sovereignty.

And so he cries out alai hayu kulanah – “all these things are against me.” The Latin Vulgate says, “all these evils fall back upon me.” It is to him as if the weight of each bad thing has been heaped right back onto his shoulders until the strain has become an unbearable load which will destroy him.

Jacob, not his brother Esau, is the covenant son. Regardless of what happens, God is in control of his past, present, and future. The Lord has appeared to him personally several times and has made unconditional assurances to him.

The last time God spoke to him directly was when he had returned to Bethel after many long years. At that time, God said to him these trustworthy words –

“I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. ¹² The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.” Genesis 35:11-12

After that, Joseph had his two dreams which showed that God was with him like he was with Jacob, but Jacob has forgotten that too.

Since then, as far as the Bible records, the Lord has remained silent. Jacob has taken this silence as abandonment.

But this is the last thing that has happened or could happen. The very things that he feels are against him – every one of them he has mentioned, are actually being worked out for him. Joseph’s removal from his life seems to him to be an evil which God allowed to weigh him down.

Instead, God has used that to bring Joseph into the only land that could save them during the time of famine. He then brought him to the only place where he would be secure from the executioner because the one he worked for was the executioner.

In that house he was falsely accused and placed in a special prison where the kings prisoners would be kept. God, not man, gave the king’s prisoners dreams. God, not man, gave Joseph the wisdom to interpret the dreams.

God, not man, gave Pharaoh his own dreams and again, it was God who directed that it would occur in the presence of the once-imprisoned cup-bearer who then told Pharaoh about Joseph.

Again, it was God who gave Joseph the ability to interpret the dreams, and gave him the wisdom which brought him to the second position in all of Egypt. God directed the famine which made it necessary for the sons of Israel to journey to Egypt.

And of all of the city storehouses in Egypt, God led the sons of Israel to the one where Joseph was at on a day that he would be working. And the brother’s time in prison allowed them time to reflect on their consciences to the extent that they would feel remorse over their treatment of Joseph.

The continued duration of the famine which came about by God will eventually necessitate a second trip to Egypt with Benjamin, and the events which will lead to reconciliation and the safety of all of Israel.

All eleven brothers will come back and bow before Joseph. Amends will be made, and the family will be saved. Every single detail is being worked out for good, but Jacob only sees the evil because he only sees it from his perspective.

Since his dream at Bethel when he fled from his brother Esau, the Lord has always been with him. But all of that is forgotten in the misery since Rachel’s death. And isn’t that exactly, I mean exactly, what we see in Israel since the death of Jesus, the Lamb of God.

Rachel, if you remember, means “lamb.” It’s the same word for her name which is used to speak of the work of Jesus in Isaiah 53:7 –

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.

For the past 2000 years, since the death of the Lamb, Israel has gone from one calamity to another, as if everything were against them. But for every calamity, God has been there, and He has been working to bring them to reunion with the King. He gave them safety in one land after another, leading right up to America. And then He brought them home to their promised land.

Here is a list of the things that are recorded about Jacob since Rachel’s death –

1) Reuben slept with his concubine Bilhah
2) His father Isaac died
3) Joseph had strange dreams, one showing that his father would bow down to him
4) Joseph was supposedly killed
5) A famine comes upon the land
6) Simeon is taken from him during the trip to Egypt, and
7) Benjamin is now expected to be taken from him to Egypt

These seven things are almost a snapshot of Israel since the death of Jesus. First, Reuben sleeps with Bilhah. Her name means “troubled” and it is carried over into the New Testament as Belial – “wicked.” If you remember, she pictures the second exile of the Jewish people. Israel unites not with Christ, but with Belial.

If that sounds harsh, listen to the words of Jesus in Revelation 3:9 which are written about Israel’s time during the church age –

“Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.”

Next Isaac dies. Isaac means laughter. The laughter is gone and the laughter has been gone from Israel for these 2000 years.

Next Joseph has his dreams about the brothers bowing down to him. As he pictures Christ, someday Jesus’ brothers will bow to Him. After that Joseph is supposedly killed and lost to Jacob, but he is actually sold off by his brothers. Jesus was killed and supposedly lost, but instead he was sold off to the gentiles.

Following that a famine comes upon the land. We saw that the famine pictured the famine of the word of God for the world of the end times. Next, Simeon was bound up. His name means “He who hears.” In Israel, any who would otherwise hear are bound up from their brothers.

Even today, Jewish people are often told “You can’t be a Jew if you’re a Christian.” You can be a Buddhist, a non-believer, a Hindu, or whatever else you want and you get to remain a Jew, but should you convert to the truth of God in Christ, you are shunned from the collective whole.

Now Benjamin is set to be taken to Egypt. Jacob doesn’t understand that everything so far has happened for God’s good end. And Israel just like them, can’t see the truth of what is going on around them. All they can see is the trouble, not the plan.

None of this is stretching the picture which is presented in Genesis. So far, this book has consistently shown us of things which have happened but which are also things which will happen. Every story is selected by the wisdom of God to show us this exceptional tapestry of human history.

Every name, every location, every number, every detail showed us more about the heavenly drama being worked out in our earthly existence. It is the epitome of beauty and the greatest exhibition of love we could imagine – love for Jew and love for Gentile.

For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has become His counselor?
It is only through His wondrous, marvelous word
That we can understand what for us He has in store

III. Not Thinking Clearly in the Land of Canaan (37, 38)

³⁷ Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.”

Reuben is the same son who tried to save Joseph from being killed by his brothers, hoping to eventually get him back to Jacob. Now, he’s actually probably more concerned with getting Simeon released from prison in Egypt than he is about anything else.

Reuben is the oldest and Simeon is second by birth. He is also the full brother of Simeon. In his desire to get him back, he knew that he had to take Benjamin to Egypt. And in order to do that, he makes an incredulous offer. “If I don’t bring him back, you can kill two of my sons.”

First, he knows that Jacob wouldn’t kill his own grandsons if he failed. Secondly, if he did fail, he wouldn’t be coming back either because they were already threatened under oath to be proven faithful or they would be counted as spies.

And so, thirdly, he makes this offer, not with the intent of it being carried out, but with the surety that he will perform what he has spoken. It is his promise that Benjamin would be brought back safely. The offer is one of guarantee, but not one of reality.

³⁸ But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.”

Jacob is not ready to let him go. The famine hasn’t taken its toll. The missing son is not as great a concern as the one he has. The time hasn’t reached its fullness. He believes Joseph is dead and so to him he is dead even though he is alive. And so only Benjamin is there to remind him of his beloved Rachel.

The fear of Jacob is tied up in his lack of faith in the promises of God. He is not thinking clearly in the land of Canaan and he is worried about his life, not what the future is promised to hold. And so here, in the troubled Jacob, is a picture of you and me at any given moment of weakness – when we forget God’s promises to us.

When we as Christians see God’s hand at work in an evident way, when blessings and good things come to us, and when those around us that we love are happy and healthy, we are quick to praise Him and to admit His presence and favor is there with us.

But when things fall apart, we start to question His goodness. What we need to do is to continue to trust Him through these times. That’s a lot easier said than done, but it is possible. It’s good to just keep reminding ourselves that what we might see as God’s severity toward us may actually be His kindness.

If we know with certainty that it is impossible for God to be the cause of evil, then just because something appears evil which is from God, then it cannot be evil. Joseph was taken from Jacob, and Jacob certainly thought that was evil, but from whose perspective?

If a brother, a sister, or a child dies, we might call that evil. “Why did God allow this terrible thing to happen?” But again, is it evil, or are we not seeing the whole picture? God’s goodness cannot be on trial and so our understanding of the situation, and resentment towards Him, must be wrong. Listen to these words from Job –

“Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding:
Far be it from God to do wickedness,
And from the Almighty to commit iniquity.
¹¹ For He repays man according to his work,
And makes man to find a reward according to his way.
¹² Surely God will never do wickedly,
Nor will the Almighty pervert justice. Job 34:10-12

This doesn’t mean there isn’t wickedness, but that the wickedness has no power to triumph over the good. Proof of that is evident anytime we look at the cross. There was a little baby in a manger who was born without the faults that the rest of us are born with.

There was the law which pointed out our faults even more, and which only increased His radiant perfection. There were the hungry that He fed and the sick that He healed. He taught people, and freed others from every possible thing that bound them.

And yet He – this marvelous Person was rejected, abandoned, and tortured. And then He was crucified. Was that wicked? The biblical answer is “Yes” and the biblical answer is “No.” The Bible says in one verse that the answer is yes and no. Here is Peter in Acts 2:23, speaking of Jesus –

“Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;”

Lawless hands crucified Christ – that was wicked. But it was done by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God – that was good. From Mary’s perspective, as she stood looking at her Son bleeding and dying, this was indeed wickedness. But from Mary’s perspective when she later realized that His death is what washed away her lifetime of sins, she saw something entirely different, didn’t she? She saw wickedness and she saw majesty in one act!

How is it that our faith, after being encouraged so many times through acts of God’s love towards us can still be so immensely frail? How can our understanding of Him, even after having the entire plan laid out in the Bible, still be so unsure and wavering.

And how imperfect is our resolve to stand and say, I know that all things in fact do work together for good because I love God and am called according to His purpose? Why is my trust of Him only when I see Him. But when I’m in the darkened valley I suddenly think He’s departed from me – like Jacob has in these verses?

When the apostles were out on a boat in Galilee, they got into a bit of a patch, didn’t they? Here’s what that says –

“Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, ‘Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out. 23 But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. 24 And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, ‘Master, Master, we are perishing!’ Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 But He said to them, ‘Where is your faith?'” Luke 8:22-25

These guys had already seen lepers cleansed, paralytics healed, and evil spirits cast out. They’d seen power radiating from Him as He healed multitudes. They’d even seen a widow’s only son raised to life as he was being carried to his burial.

And yet, despite the calling, despite the wisdom in His teachings and the explanation of Kingdom matters which included them, despite the miracles, despite the power – they lost their faith as they were tossed about on the sea. Our sea of life is one of high waves and overflows of burdens, but He asks us to trust Him through it all… to have a little faith, even that of a mustard seed.

Let’s endeavor to do this and not be like Jacob who had personally seen the Lord and yet allowed his own miseries to overcome the faith he should have possessed. Every week, I give a call for people to receive what they may never have had before, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. But today, maybe you need to receive what you once possessed and have now lost.

If you need Jesus, call out to Him to pardon you of your sins. Be reconciled to God and be free from what condemns. But if you need to renew your walk with Him, call out to Him and let Him know that. Redirect yourself to Him and He will bind up your wounds. Have faith in this wonderful Lord who walked on water and who died and rose again for you and me.

Closing Verse:
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-4

Next Week: Genesis 43:1-14 (A Difficult Decision for Israel) (107th Genesis Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you and He has a good plan and purpose for you. Call on Him and let Him do marvelous things for you and through you.

Where is God in All of This?

Then they went to Jacob their father
In the land of Canaan and him they told
All that had happened to them, all the bother
Saying: the circumstances of our journey were uncontrolled

“The man who is lord of the land
He surely spoke roughly to us
And took us for spies of the country
It was a bad situation, we now discuss

But we said to him, in an attempt to subdue
“We are honest men; we are not spies
We are speaking the truth to you
This is honesty from our lips, not lies

We are twelve brothers, sons of our father we say
One is no more, from us he is gone
And the youngest is with our father this day
In the land of Canaan, our words you can count on

Then the man, the lord of the country
Said to us, ‘By this I will know
That you are honest men, thus I will see
If the words you have spoken are so

Leave one of your brothers here with me
Take for your households food for the famine
And be gone, off to Canaan except one detainee
Later, the truth of your words I will examine

And bring your youngest brother to me
So I shall know that you are not spies
But that you are honest men, speaking plainly
I will know you words are truth and not lies

I will grant your brother to you
And you may trade in the land
After I know that your words are true
And you have not dishonestly planned

Then it happened as their sacks they poured out
That surprisingly each man’s bundle of money
Was in his sack which without a doubt
To them was something not very funny

And when they and their father
Saw the bundles of money
They were afraid, it was much bother
And life wasn’t looking really very sunny

And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me
Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more
And you want to take Benjamin too I see
….
All of these things are against me

Then Reuben spoke to his father saying
“Kill my two sons if I do not
Bring him back to you as you are praying
Back to this place, yes this very spot

Put him in my hands
And I will bring him back to you
This is the thing father, I have committed to do

But he said, “My son shall not go down with you
For his brother is dead
And he is left alone, this idea eschew
Does this even really need to be said?

If any calamity should befall him there
Along the way in which you go
Then you would bring down my gray hair
With sorrow to the grave, I would perish in woe

Jacob’s faith was lacking at this time
And it seems to us more than odd
That a man who had spoken to the Lord
Would waiver in his faith in God

But he is a flesh and blood man
He is another human like any of us
We drown in sorrows when we lose sight of the plan
Which God has revealed in the Lord Jesus

Help us O God to keep our eyes directed to You
Even in the deepest dark valley, that You are there
You are our faithful Protector, yes, we know its true
And in Your hand is our every woe and care

Thank You, thank You O God for Your sufficient grace
Thank You for Your guiding Light of love
You will surely carry us to Your glorious place
To the New Jerusalem in the heaven’s above

Hallelujah and Amen…