Gen 42:29-43:34

Timeline:

1899	Selling of Joseph (at 17 years old)	Gen 37:2
1886	Joseph (30 yrs old - out of prison)	Gen 41:46
1879	Beginning of famine (37 yrs old)	Gen 41:54
1878	Brothers’ first visit to Egypt (38 yrs old)	Gen 42:1-2
1877	Brothers’ second visit to Egypt	Gen 43:1; 45:6, 11
1876	Jacob's descent to Egypt	Gen 46:6; cf. 47:9
1845	Israel is enslaved
1446	Israel leaves Egypt after 400 years of bondage	Gen 15:13,16;Acts 7:6
1395	Conquest of Canaan complete (essentially)	Acts 13:19,20

Review:  Last week, the long term problem with guilt.


Gen 42:29-38 (ESV) When they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them, saying, 30 "The man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us and took us to be spies of the land. 31 But we said to him, 'We are honest men; we have never been spies. 32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father. One is no more, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.' 33 Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, 'By this I shall know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for the famine of your households, and go your way. 34 Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I shall know that you are not spies but honest men, and I will deliver your brother to you, and you shall trade in the land.'"

35  As they emptied their sacks, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack. And when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid. 36 And Jacob their father said to them, "You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has come against me." 37 Then Reuben said to his father, "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." 38 But he said, "My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If harm should happen to him on the journey that you are to make, you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol."



• What does the return of the money do?
• It now makes it appear that they stole the grain
• I wonder how the Father looked at the return of the money
• Did he think that maybe they were dishonest?
• Was he less likely to send Benjamin as a result?
• "Every time they return without a brother, they also return with extra money"
• The return of the money is the emotional breaking point for Jacob
• How is Jacob's statement ( vs 36 "everything is against me (NIV)") ironic?
• During his time with Laban, everything was for him
• So now, life is without any meaning. He might as well die if something happens to Benjamin (he is between 21 and 27 years old)
• What does Jacob's statement reveal about Jacob?
• Very emotional
• All is lost (Eeyore - like) -- "Everything is against me"
• Gen 45:26-27 provides insight in Jacob's life
Gen 45:26-27 (ESV) And they told him, "Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt." And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. 27 But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.

• Jacob has allowed a painful situation to take the joy out of life for 20 years
• Yes, it is good to grieve
• Yes, it is good to be honest with our feelings (Example as Elder at Derwood CMA and survey about being angry with God)
• But, at some point, we need to give our disappointments and hurts to God and move on with life
• Yet the reality is -- the truths of the situation -- God is doing something very good in Jacob's life
• APPLICATION:  No matter what good has happened in your life previously, when hard times initially hit, for most people, it is forgotten. It was one of the reasons God set up reminders for the people--it is too easy to forget (example: Ebenezer)
• Why does Reuben make his suggestion (occurs during a very emotional moment)?
• He is the oldest
• He is a man and so during an emotional moment offers a solution
• It is a stupid suggestion -- why would Jacob kill his grand-children?
• It does reemphasize the importance of what happened to Joseph, which is the reason Jacob protects Benjamin.  As a result, Jacob will not give in for a whole year, and in the meantime, Simeon sits in prison
• APPLICATION: We need to trust God and not trust our circumstances


Gen 43:1-10 (ESV) Now the famine was severe in the land. 2 And when they had eaten the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, "Go again, buy us a little food." 3 But Judah said to him, "The man solemnly warned us, saying, 'You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.' 4 If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 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.'" 6 Israel said, "Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man that you had another brother?" 7 They replied, "The man questioned us carefully about ourselves and our kindred, saying, 'Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?' What we told him was in answer to these questions. Could we in any way know that he would say, 'Bring your brother down'?" 8 And Judah said to Israel his father, "Send the boy 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 will be a pledge of his safety. 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. 10 If we had not delayed, we would now have returned twice."


• Who takes the lead this time in confronting their Father? Judah
• How does Judah initially reply to his father's command to get food?
• He stands up to him and says he will not go without Benjamin
• I think he shows moral integrity. He gives the right answer, not the answer the person wanted to hear
• Jacob's response is very emotional and has nothing to do with the situation.  Asking "why did you" for the umpteenth time does not help things or change the situation
• Isn't that what we do to people when we don't get our way? We blame others for our troubles
• How is Judah's solution different from Reuben?
• Is it not ridiculous, i.e., kill your grandchildren
• It is personal -- he takes responsibility -- which is really all he can do.  Judah is emerging as the leader among his brothers
• Judah also shows some character improvement, which is good considering there was a lack of integrity regarding his daughter-in-law
• APPLICATION: Judah shows both integrity in standing up to his father but also in showing his humanity in his passion-ed response to his father


Gen 43:11-16 (ESV) Then their father Israel said to them, "If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry a present down to the man, a little balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. 12 Take double the money with you. Carry back with you the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight. 13 Take also your brother, and arise, go again to the man. 14 May God Almighty  grant you mercy before the man, and may he send back your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved."

15 So the men took this present, and they took double the money with them, and Benjamin. They arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, "Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make ready, for the men are to dine with me at noon."


• What does Jacob recommend doing and what does it suggest?
• Is Jacob going back to his old ways (scheming) or is this a rational suggestion in light of the events?
• Also it is a similar thing that the did with Esau
• Eg.  I struggle with pride, and my weakness sometimes handcuffs me, because when it might be appropriate to say something (that hedges on prideful), it also might be the most appropriate thing to say at the time
• APPLICATION:  We do need to be careful with our weaknesses but we shouldn't let them handcuff our actions.  The best action is to pray and ask God to reveal our motive
• Jacob is not completely in a funk (or state of depression), why? He takes two positive steps
• He appeals to God's mercy
• He takes a realistic approach, "if I am bereaved, I am bereaved." Of course, you could also see it as a comment from someone who has ceased to care anymore


Gen 43:17-25 (ESV) The man did as Joseph told him and brought the men to Joseph's house. 18 And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph's house, and they said, "It is because of the money, which was replaced in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may assault us and fall upon us to make us servants and seize our donkeys." 19 So they went up to the steward of Joseph's house and spoke with him at the door of the house, 20 and said, "Oh, my lord, we came down the first time to buy food. 21 And when we came to the lodging place we opened our sacks, and there was each man's money in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight. So we have brought it again with us, 22 and we have brought other money down with us to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks." 23 He replied, "Peace to you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks for you. I received your money." Then he brought Simeon out to them. 24 And when the man had brought the men into Joseph's house and given them water, and they had washed their feet, and when he had given their donkeys fodder, 25 they prepared the present for Joseph's coming at noon, for they heard that they should eat bread there.



• Do you notice how nervous the brothers are -- why?
• Certainly, the situation is unusual
• But, guilt is always in the background
• What are some positive things from the passage?
• They immediately try to resolve the money problem -- shows some courage and integrity (they could have tried to hide the issue) -- I would hope that all of us would give back extra money if we were refunded too much; we certainly say something when we are shorted …
• The servants are aware of "their God and the God of their Father," suggesting that Joseph is having an impact in Egypt, and that the servants are aware of what's going on (which would have to be true since they knew he was an Eber)
• They have brought a gift -- while it could be seen as a bribe, it could also show generosity
• APPLICATION: There are a lot of positive signs suggesting his brothers have changed


------- Extra Passage ---------
Gen 43:26-34 (ESV) When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present that they had with them and bowed down to him to the ground. 27 And he inquired about their welfare and said, "Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?" 28 They said, "Your servant our father is well; he is still alive." And they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves. 29 And he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, "Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me? God be gracious to you, my son!" 30 Then Joseph hurried out, for his compassion grew warm for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. And he entered his chamber and wept there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out. And controlling himself he said, "Serve the food." 32 They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. 33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth. And the men looked at one another in amazement. 34  Portions were taken to them from Joseph's table, but Benjamin's portion was five times as much as any of theirs. And they drank and were merry with him.



• What catches you as unusual in this passage, especially if you were the brothers?
• They are all brought to his home without any explanation [previous passage]
• The leader remembers them, their father, and their brother (very unusual)
• They are seated oldest to youngest
• Benjamin was given a portion designated for only the highest of dignitaries
• Why? possibly looking for jealousy
• What is Joseph doing?
• Some writers suggest he is creating tension and uncertainty in the brothers mind.  In a sense, he is setting the stage
• Why did he have to have dinner with them?
• To give them the opportunity to steal his cup (or rather to set the stage, suggesting the planning of the event)
• APPLICATION: ??


APPLICATION:
1. Good times in the past are most often forgotten during bad times. Remembrances, journals, etc, can be a help
2. Good leadership is standing up for what is wrong but also showing compassion for what is right
3. Be careful not to let your weaknesses handicap your response