Joseph: Reunites with Family - Genesis 43:1 - 45:34

Teacher: Rusty Kennedy
Series: Bible Stories

Rusty's Notes

Review:

• Joseph promoted from a hole in the ground to running the country.
• Manages the famine, and his brothers come for food.
• Joseph imprisoned Simeon and told them to bring back Benjamin.
  
  

DECISION TO RETURN TO EGYPT
GENESIS 43:1-34
1 Now the famine in the land was severe. 2 When they had used up the grain they had brought back from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little food.”

• What was the length of time to use up all the grain?
• Simeon was in prison by Joseph in Egypt.

3 But Judah said to him, “The man specifically warned us, ‘You will not see me again unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy food for you. 5 But if you will not send him, we will not go, for the man said to us, ‘You will not see me again unless your brother is with you.’ ”
6 “Why have you caused me so much trouble?” Israel asked. “Why did you tell the man that you had another brother?”
7 They answered, “The man kept asking about us and our family: ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ And we answered him accordingly. How could we know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother here’?”
8 Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me. We will be on our way so that we may live and not die—neither we, nor you, nor our dependents. 9 I will be responsible for him. You can hold me personally accountable! If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, I will be guilty before you forever. 10 If we had not delayed, we could have come back twice by now.”

• Jacob passed on Reuben (Gen 42:37-38) because Joseph didn’t survive under his watch.
• Joseph imprisoned Simeon
• Levi was rejected because of the slaughter of men at Shechem with Simeon.

11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your packs and take them down to the man as a gift—a little balsam and a little honey, aromatic gum and resin, pistachios and almonds. 12 Take twice as much silver with you. Return the silver that was returned to you in the top of your bags. Perhaps it was a mistake. 13 Take your brother also, and go back at once to the man. 14 May God Almighty (El Shadai) cause the man to be merciful to you so that he will release your other brother and Benjamin to you. As for me, if I am deprived of my sons, then I am deprived.”
 
THE RETURN TO EGYPT
15 The men took this gift, double the amount of silver, and Benjamin. They immediately went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his steward, “Take the men to my house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for they will eat with me at noon.” 17 The man did as Joseph had said and brought them to Joseph’s house.
18 But the men were afraid because they were taken to Joseph’s house. They said, “We have been brought here because of the silver that was returned in our bags the first time. They intend to overpower us, seize us, make us slaves, and take our donkeys.”

• Total paranoia.
• Power of sin - thoughts

19 So they approached Joseph’s steward and spoke to him at the doorway of the house.

• This incident illustrates how guilty sinners crave a mediator who will defend them before a just God, and how Jesus acts as an advocate for them before the Father (cf. 1 John 2:1).

20 They said, “My lord, we really did come down here the first time only to buy food. 21 When we came to the place where we lodged for the night and opened our bags of grain, each one’s silver was at the top of his bag! It was the full amount of our silver, and we have brought it back with us. 22 We have brought additional silver with us to buy food. We don’t know who put our silver in the bags.”
23 Then the steward said, “May you be well. Don’t be afraid. Your God and the God of your father must have put treasure in your bags. I received your silver.”

• Utter surprised by his response.
• Evidently Joseph had covered the loss by paying for his brothers' food himself.

Then he brought Simeon out to them.

• A joyful reunion

24 The steward brought the men into Joseph’s house, gave them water to wash their feet, and got feed for their donkeys. 25 Since the men had heard that they were going to eat a meal there, they prepared their gift for Joseph’s arrival at noon. 26 When Joseph came home, they brought him the gift they had carried into the house, and they bowed to the ground before him.

• Joseph’s dream fulfilled for a 2nd time.

27 He asked if they were well, and he said, “How is your elderly father that you told me about? Is he still alive?”
28 They answered, “Your servant our father is well. He is still alive.” And they knelt low and paid homage to him.

• 3rd time.

29 When he looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, he asked, “Is this your youngest brother that you told me about?” Then he said, “May God be gracious to you, my son.”

• Benjamin was about 16 years younger than Joseph, so he would have been about 23 at this time

30 Joseph hurried out because he was overcome with emotion for his brother, and he was about to weep. He went into an inner room and wept there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out. Regaining his composure, he said, “Serve the meal.”
32 They served him by himself, his brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who were eating with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, since that is detestable to them.

• The system in Egypt required that Joseph, as a upper class member, eat at a table separate from his Egyptian companions.
• The Hebrews sat at a third table, since they were foreigners.
• The Hebrews and other foreigners ate animals that the Egyptians regarded as sacred.
• The Egyptians also followed strict rules for the ceremonial cleansing of their food before they ate it.
• This made the Hebrews "an abomination" to the Egyptians.
• The Egyptians also shaved off all their body hair (cf. 41:14 - Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and they quickly brought him from the dungeon., He shaved, changed his clothes, and went to Pharaoh.[1]), so the hairiness of the Hebrews may have been another reason for the Egyptians' distaste.

33 They were seated before him in order by age, from the firstborn to the youngest. The men looked at each other in astonishment.

• Joseph now hosted a meal for his brothers, who, years before, had callously sat down to eat while he languished in a pit.

34 Portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, and Benjamin’s portion was five times larger than any of theirs.

• Joseph gave the highest honor to Benjamin as his distinguished guest.
• Special honorees frequently received double portions, but a fivefold portion was the sign of highest privilege.
• With this favor, Joseph sought not only to honor Benjamin but also to test his other brothers' feelings toward Benjamin.
• He wanted to see if they would hate Benjamin as they had hated him, his father's former favorite.
• Evidently they passed this test.
• Those who would participate in God's program must be willing to take responsibility for their actions, make restitution when they are culpable, and accept their lot gratefully and without jealousy.

They drank and became drunk with Joseph.[2]
 
JOSEPH’S FINAL TEST
GENESIS 44:1-34
1 Joseph commanded his steward, “Fill the men’s bags with as much food as they can carry, and put each one’s silver at the top of his bag. 2 Put my cup, the silver one, at the top of the youngest one’s bag, along with the silver for his grain.” So he did as Joseph told him.
3 At morning light, the men were sent off with their donkeys. 4 They had not gone very far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, “Get up. Pursue the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? 5 Isn’t this the cup that my master drinks from and uses for divination?

• A black art of the dark demonic world, that was later outlawed by God in Deuteronomy 18:10

What you have done is wrong!’ ”
6 When he overtook them, he said these words to them. 7 They said to him, “Why does my lord say these things? Your servants could not possibly do such a thing. 8 We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found at the top of our bags. How could we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? 9 If it is found with one of us, your servants, he must die, and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.”
10 The steward replied, “What you have said is right, but only the one who is found to have it will be my slave, and the rest of you will be blameless.”
11 So each one quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. 12 The steward searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13 Then they tore their clothes, and each one loaded his donkey and returned to the city.
14 When Judah and his brothers reached Joseph’s house, he was still there. They fell to the ground before him.

• 4th time

15 “What have you done?” Joseph said to them. “Didn’t you know that a man like me could uncover the truth by divination?”
16 “What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “How can we plead? How can we justify ourselves? God has exposed your servants’ iniquity. We are now my lord’s slaves—both we and the one in whose possession the cup was found.”
17 Then Joseph said, “I swear that I will not do this. The man in whose possession the cup was found will be my slave. The rest of you can go in peace to your father.”[3]
 JUDAH’S PLEA FOR BENJAMIN

• Judah has one on one with Joseph
• “You are like Pharoah”
• You asked us about our Father, and we told you.
• Our father is grieving from the loss of his son.
• He doesn’t want to lose Benjamin.
• He repeats what Joseph demanded and how they responded accordingly.
• Their father said he would die if something happened to Benjamin.
• Judah is taking responsibility for the welfare of Benjamin.
• He offers himself to be Joseph’s slave.

 

• There it is… repentance!
• Joseph was waiting to see if they were jealous of Benjamin and turn him over to be a slave, just as they did him years ago.
• But they didn’t!
• Judah even showed compassion for their father rather than hatred from jealousy.
• They were remorseful and unified as a family.
• This had Joseph worked up into an emotional frenzy.

 
JOSEPH REVEALS HIS IDENTITY
GENESIS 45:1-28
1 Joseph could no longer keep his composure in front of all his attendants, so he called out, “Send everyone away from me!” No one was with him when he revealed his identity to his brothers. 2 But he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and also Pharaoh’s household heard it. 3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But they could not answer him because they were terrified in his presence.
4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please, come near me,” and they came near. “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt. 5 And now don’t be grieved or angry with yourselves for selling me here, because God sent me ahead of you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting. 7 God sent me ahead of you to establish you as a remnant within the land and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. 8 Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
9 “Return quickly to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me without delay. 10 You can settle in the land of Goshen and be near me—you, your children, and your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and all you have.

• "Goshen" was the most fertile part of Egypt.
• It lay in the delta region northeast of the Egyptian capital, Memphis.

11 There I will sustain you, for there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise, you, your household, and everything you have will become destitute.” ’ 12 Look! Your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin can see that I’m the one speaking to you. 13 Tell my father about all my glory in Egypt and about all you have seen. And bring my father here quickly.”
14 Then Joseph threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept on his shoulder. 15 Joseph kissed each of his brothers as he wept, and afterward his brothers talked with him.
 
THE RETURN FOR JACOB
16 When the news reached Pharaoh’s palace, “Joseph’s brothers have come,” Pharaoh and his servants were pleased. 17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and go on back to the land of Canaan. 18 Get your father and your families, and come back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you can eat from the richness of the land.’ 19 You are also commanded to tell them, ‘Do this: Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your dependents and your wives and bring your father here. 20 Do not be concerned about your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

• This was not an invitation… but a command.

21 The sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had commanded, and he gave them provisions for the journey. 22 He gave each of the brothers changes of clothes, but he gave Benjamin three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothes. 23 He sent his father the following: ten donkeys carrying the best products of Egypt and ten female donkeys carrying grain, food, and provisions for his father on the journey. 24 So Joseph sent his brothers on their way, and as they were leaving, he said to them, “Don’t argue on the way.”

• Since Joseph had forgiven them, they should forgive one another

25 So they went up from Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. 26 They said, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” Jacob was stunned, for he did not believe them.

• Both Abraham and Jacob figuratively receive their sons back from the dead.
• Both sons prefigure the death and resurrection of Christ, but Joseph is even more so.
• Both Joseph & Jesus are not only alive but rulers overall.

27 But when they told Jacob all that Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.
28 Then Israel said, “Enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go to see him before I die.”[4]

• Genesis declares that children raised in dysfunctional families are not locked by fate into living dysfunctional lives.
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[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 41:14.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 43:1–34.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 44:1–17.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 45:1–28.