Genesis 42:1-24

I.                 Fulfillment of Joseph’s Dreams (Genesis 42:1-6)

a.      Genesis 42:1- Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?

·        How would Jacob have seen that there was corn in Egypt?

o       Likely saw that his neighbors with provision and inquired as to where they were able to obtain it

·        “Why are you standing there looking at each other?”  Seems like a common saying that parents tell their children today

o       What are you standing around for…get to it!

o       No time for moping and feeling sorry for yourself, that’s not what we are supposed to be doing

o       2 Timothy 1:7 - For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

§        No time to feel sorry for yourself, God has given you power and the mind to overcome it

b.      Genesis 42:2- And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.

·        v. 1 he saw there was corn in Egypt, v. 2 he has heard there was corn in Egypt

o       Matthew 13:16 - But blessed [are] your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

o       Jacob was tuned in to the will of God, he knew that God had made a promise to him and would make provision for his family.

o       God wants us to be watchful and be in tune with His Spirit

§        Matthew 26:41 - Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak.

c.      Genesis 42:3- And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.

·        All but Benjamin

·        Consider the volume of corn that they would require:

o       Enough for 70 people for some unknown period of time

o       Enough for all the flocks that Jacob owned

o       Enough for all of the servants

o       The amount of corn required would have been a massive amount and possibly the reason that attention was drawn to them in Egypt.

d.      Genesis 42:4- But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.

·        Jacob shows the same favoritism toward Benjamin as he did toward Joseph

e.      Genesis 42:5- And the sons of Israel came to buy [corn] among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

·        Israel was not the only family to come to Egypt to buy corn

f.       Genesis 42:6- And Joseph [was] the governor over the land, [and] he [it was] that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him [with] their faces to the earth.

·        Genesis 37:7 - For, behold, we [were] binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.

·        Genesis 37:9 - And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.

o       Here we see Joseph’s brothers bowing down before him thus fulfilling the dreams that he had over 20 years prior.

o       Joseph is now ~37 years old, he was younger than all of his brothers except Benjamin.  They are all in their late 30s and 40s.

o       When we think about the difference in our thinking processes in our teens and 20s compared to 40s there is a huge difference in terms of maturity.

·        The famine has begun, meaning 7 years have passed since Joseph was appointed 2^nd in command.  In those 7 years Joseph made no attempt to visit his family, why not?

·        Joseph traveled throughout all Egypt, yet did not find the time to visit Canaan.

o       Genesis 41:45b – And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.

·        Joseph trusted the Lord, sometimes that is hard to do and Joseph seems to do everything perfectly, the way God would want him to do it.  Its hard to imagine making the right decision every time, but Joseph was blessed by God and led by His Spirit.

II.               Joseph tests his brothers (Genesis 42:7-20)

a.      Genesis 42:7- And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.

·        Likely dressed in royal apparel and virtually unrecognizable to his brothers.

·        Luke 24:13-16 - And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem [about] threescore furlongs.  And they talked together of all these things which had happened.  And it came to pass, that, while they communed [together] and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.  But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.  And he said unto them, What manner of communications [are] these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?

b.      Genesis 42:8- And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.

·        John 1:10 - He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

·        1 John 3:1 - Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

·        Zechariah 12:10 - And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for [his] only [son], and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for [his] firstborn.

c.      Genesis 42:9- And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye [are] spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.

·        God allows Joseph to call to remembrance that all of these things were shown to him in his dreams and that they are all part of His plan.  This may serve to quell any of the resentful feelings that Joseph is harboring from the past.

·        Do we harbor resentment for offenses that may have been God’s plan all along? Letting go of resentment and forgiving others of their offenses is what God wants us to do

d.      Genesis 42:10- And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.

e.      Genesis 42:11- We [are] all one man's sons; we [are] true [men], thy servants are no spies.

f.       Genesis 42:12- And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.

g.      Genesis 42:13- And they said, Thy servants [are] twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest [is] this day with our father, and one [is] not.

·        They speak of Joseph as if they know he is dead by saying he “is not”, how ironic that they are standing right before him.

h.      Genesis 42:14- And Joseph said unto them, That [is it] that I spake unto you, saying, Ye [are] spies:

i.       Genesis 42:15- Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.

j.       Genesis 42:16- Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether [there be any] truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye [are] spies.

·        Joseph initially was going to keep all of the brothers in prison and send one back to get Benjamin

k.      Genesis 42:17- And he put them all together into ward three days.

·        Joseph gives them a small sampling of the many years he spent in prison

·        He gave them 3 days to decide which brother was going to travel back to Canaan to get Benjamin, there is no indication that a decision was ever reached.

l.       Genesis 42:18- And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; [for] I fear God:

·        God - אלהים 'elohiym, Joseph uses the generic name for God rather than the covenant name יהוה Yĕhovah, for that would have surely alerted his brothers of his identity.  This does convey the message that Joseph is not a worship the Egyptian gods.

·        Nonetheless, these words should be very comforting to his brothers, for they know that he submits himself to the higher authority, and its not Ra.

m.    Genesis 42:19- If ye [be] true [men], let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses:

·        After 3 days Joseph changes his mind and decides to allow all of them to go, but kept one behind, why did he change his mind?

·        Could it be that he came to realize how much grain he had to send back to Canaan and one man could not do it by himself?

n.      Genesis 42:20- But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.

·        What a strange request, how would this prove they were not spies?  This should have seemed like a very strange demand

·        Bringing Benjamin back would prove that they were telling the truth about having a brother, but how does that vindicate them against the charge of espionage?

·        Joseph is not even questioned, likely because they were afraid to speak to him.

·        We know the reason Joseph wanted to see the younger brother, but they did not know his reason and should have seemed like a strange request.

III.             Joseph’s brothers confess their guilt (Genesis 42:21-23)

a.      Genesis 42:21- And they said one to another, We [are] verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.

·        Psalm 25:7 - Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD.

·        20 years later their guilt is finally confessed in response to their current dilemma, why would they connect their current situation to their sin 20 years removed.

·        How often does God allow some calamity to happen in our lives so that we recognize our need for repentance.

·        2 Corinthians 7:10a - For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of…

b.      Genesis 42:22- And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.

·        Reuben makes this statement with the full knowledge that Joseph was sold, not killed yet his blood is on their hands.

·        Matthew 27:25 - Then answered all the people, and said, His blood [be] on us, and on our children.

o       Unknowingly the Jews shout the same thing to Pilate

c.      Genesis 42:23- And they knew not that Joseph understood [them]; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.

·        If there was an interpreter available that spoke the same language as Israel, it seems that their language must have been a common language.

IV.            Joseph weeps and blesses his brothers (Genesis 42:24-25)

a.      Genesis 42:24- And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.

·        Isaiah 45:15-17 - Verily thou [art] a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.  They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together [that are] makers of idols.  [But] Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.

·        2 Thessalonians 2:13 - But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:

o      Simeon - שמעון Shim`own, “hearing with acceptance”

o       Those who hear the gospel with acceptance are bound to Him

o       We also see the removal of Simeon from the other brothers which removed their “hearing with acceptance” they are sent out to their family to “testify without understanding”

§        Isaiah 6:9 - And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.

§        Romans 10:17 - So then faith [comes] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

§        The taking of Simeon could be representative of removing their “hearing” and lack of faith

§        This continues through the present with modern day Judah ho do not have a “hearing ear”