Genesis 42:25-38

b.      Genesis 42:25- Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus did he unto them.

·        Acts 8:20 - But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

o       By returning their money, Joseph’s actions demonstrate that the gifts of God cannot be purchased with money.  Salvation is a gift, the corn represents salvation for Israel and it is a gift from Jesus, whom Joseph represents.

o       Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

§        What Joseph’s brothers did to him was worthy of death, but instead he chose to forgive them and thereby save all Israel

§        Similarly, what we did to Jesus with our sin was worthy of death, yet He chooses to forgive us.

o       Ephesians 2:8 - For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:

§        We cannot save ourselves, no matter how hard we work, how much money we have or who we know, it is a gift of God

o       Psalm 3:8 - Salvation [belongeth] unto the LORD: thy blessing [is] upon thy people. Selah.

·        Acts 4:12 - … there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

·        Titus 2:11 - For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men

II.               The brother’s return to Jacob (Genesis 42:26-38)

a.      Genesis 42:26- And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence.

·        No indication of how many asses or how many bags of corn

·        Could have been a 1 ass per brother and 1 sack per ass or more.

b.      Genesis 42:27- And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for, behold, it [was] in his sack's mouth.

·        Alludes to the fact that salvation cannot be purchased, it is a gift

c.      Genesis 42:28- And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, [it is] even in my sack: and their heart failed [them], and they were afraid, saying one to another, What [is] this [that] God hath done unto us?

·        Why were they afraid? A guilty conscience results in fear.

·        Fear is not of God, fear is of the adversary and uses our imagination against us to conjure fear within ourselves.

·        Something good happens and they tremble in fear, no faith, no trust in their God.

d.      Genesis 42:29- And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying,

e.      Genesis 42:30- The man, [who is] the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.

·        Joseph was lord of the land representative of Jesus being Lord of all.

·        Isaiah 66:1 - Thus saith the LORD, The heaven [is] my throne, and the earth [is] my footstool: where [is] the house that ye build unto me? and where [is] the place of my rest?

f.       Genesis 42:31- And we said unto him, We [are] true [men]; we are no spies:

g.      Genesis 42:32- We [be] twelve brethren, sons of our father; one [is] not, and the youngest [is] this day with our father in the land of Canaan.

h.      Genesis 42:33- And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye [are] true [men]; leave one of your brethren [here] with me, and take [food for] the famine of your households, and be gone:

i.       Genesis 42:34- And bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye [are] no spies, but [that] ye [are] true [men: so] will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land.

j.       Genesis 42:35- And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle of money [was] in his sack: and when [both] they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.

·        Even Jacob was fearful of the blessing

k.      Genesis 42:36- And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved [of my children]: Joseph [is] not, and Simeon [is] not, and ye will take Benjamin [away]: all these things are against me.

·        Through our ignorance and mistake, and the weakness of our faith, we often apprehend that to be against us which is really for us. We are afflicted in body, estate, name, and relations; and we think all these things are against us, whereas these are really working for us the weight of glory.  Matthew Henry’s Commentary

l.       Genesis 42:37- And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.

·        What an offer, “Dad, if I don’t bring your son back, kill your 2 grandsons”  I’m sure that was not a very tempting offer for Jacob.

·        Its obvious Reuben has the best intentions in mind, but his offer indicates his zeal is greater than his intelligence

m.    Genesis 42:38- And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.

·        Sometimes fear is paralyzing…does it make sense to not send Benjamin and guarantee that everyone dies, or send him with the possibility that the lord of the land is truthful?

·        Sometimes we irrationally hold onto people or things that we don’t wish to part with, rather than give them up to the Lord.  Examples could include:

o       Parents and children

o       Boyfriends and girlfriends

o       Spouses

o       Siblings

o       Friends

o       2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

o       1 Timothy 2:3-4 - For this [is] good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

§        God’s desire is for all of his people to be saved, we sometimes need to let go and trust God.  Trust Him and He will amaze you.

Genesis 41:42-57

f.      Genesis 41:42 – And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;

§        The giving of the ring serves as a ratification of Pharaoh’s proclamation.

o       We also see that he was once again given a clothing of honor, similar to the coat of “many colors” that his father Jacob had given to him.

§        In verse 37 we see that all of Pharaoh’s servants saw that promoting someone to this position was a good thing, yet here when the decision is made we see no mention of the reaction of the servants.

§        Could it be that they were initially glad because there was a possibility that each of them could have been nominated for the position, yet here when the slave is elevated there appears to be indifference.  We see this similarly in Daniel

o       Daniel 6:4 - Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he [was] faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.

o       Imagine if our leaders today would turn to God and seek His counsel rather than rely on their own wisdom

-        We have one recent example

-        http://www.wnd.com/2012/11/ugandan-president-repents-of-personal-national-sins/

-        Can you imagine a United States president saying any of this? Why not?

-        Lets see what God does in Uganda over the next several months…

g.      Genesis 41:43 – And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him [ruler] over all the land of Egypt.

§        Acts 2:36 – Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

§        Philippians 2:10 - That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the earth;

§        Joseph being elevated to the right hand of Pharaoh over all the land of Egypt foreshadows the elevation of Christ over all creation. Egypt encapsulates all creation as Joseph is the representative of Christ, and Pharaoh is representative of God the Father in this instance.

h.      Genesis 41:44 – And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I [am] Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.

§        Question: What did Joseph do to convince Pharaoh that he was worthy of all these honors bestowed upon him?

o       To put things into perspective, Egypt was the greatest nation at that time and here Pharaoh is turning over the day-to-day operations of the entire country to a 30 year old man, a slave a foreigner that he had just dragged out of prison.

o       Joseph told Pharaoh what his dream meant and that was it! And it wasn’t even Joseph, it was God as Joseph rightfully declared.  Yet this one act of obedience was met with tremendous honor.

o       What Joseph spoke in mere minutes was all that the Pharaoh needed to hear in order to make his determination, and it wasn’t even a difficult decision.

o        What a dramatic turn of events in Joseph’s life:

-        He was sitting in prison, unaware of anything going on in the palace. 

-        Suddenly, guards show up to bath and escort Joseph to see Pharaoh

-        He tells Pharaoh what his dream means

-        He is promoted to 2^nd in command over all of Egypt

-        He is elevated from the lowest ranks of society to the highest in mere hours!

-        Never doubt the power of God!

§        Answer: Joseph was as good and righteous a man as there was, but nothing he did warranted the reward bestowed upon him.  What Pharaoh was rewarding was what God had done through Joseph.  God chose Joseph and he was elevated to accomplish the purpose that God had in store.

o       Remember, elevating Joseph was merely the means that God chose to accomplish His purpose, which was to save Israel.  In doing so he provided a living, prophetic, typology of the coming Messiah.

i.      Genesis 41:45 – And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnathpaaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over [all] the land of Egypt.

§        Philippians 2:9 -  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

o       More evidence that Joseph is a “type” of Christ in the parallels between the characteristics of Christ and Joseph’s new name

§        Zaphnathpaaneah – צפנת פענח Tsophnath Pa`neach, "treasury of the glorious rest" or “abundance of life”, Gesenius Lexicon – “salvation” or “savior of the age”, also… “revealer of a secret”.   We see several possible meanings for the name and all of them point to Christ.

o       Matthew 11:28 - Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

-        "treasury of the glorious rest"

o       John 10:10b - … I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly.

-        “abundance of life”

o       Revelation 7:10 - And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

-        “salvation”

o       John 4:42b - for we have heard [him] ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.

-        “savior of the age”

-        World - κόσμος kosmos, several definitions but together they seem represent the entire universe of creation and everything in it

o       Matthew 13:34-35 - All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

-        “revealer of a secret”

§        Asenath – אסנת 'Acĕnath, "belonging to the goddess Neith"

o       Neith was goddess of the hunt. She may have also been a war goddess. Her worship dates from pre dynastic history. In early times she was called 'mother of the gods' and 'Great Goddess'. She was considered the guardian of men and gods.  Often pictured as a woman wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt, holding a bow and crossed arrows. Her cult sign was a shield and crossed arrows. Occasionally she was represented as the great cow, mother of Ra

o       No longer does Asenath belong to the goddess of Neith, she now belongs to Zaphnathpaaneah (Joseph), the savior of the world!

o       Just as we who were once in bondage to sin…

-        1 Corinthians 6:11 - And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

§        Potipherah – פוטי פרע Powtiy Phera`, "he whom the Ra gave"

§        On – און 'Own, "strength or vigour", city in lower Egypt, bordering land of Goshen, centre of sun-worship, residence of Potipherah (priest of On and father-in-law of Joseph)

§        Revelation 19:7 - Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

o       Notice one of the first things Pharaoh did after elevating Joseph was to establish him in marriage with an honorable wife

o       Likewise we see that the marriage of the Lamb, the body of Christ joined to the bride of Christ.

II.            Interpretations prove true, Joseph successfully prepares (Genesis 41:46-57)

a.      Genesis 41:46 – And Joseph [was] thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.

§        Luke 3:23 - And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was [the son] of Heli,

o       Joseph becomes a servant of  Pharaoh about the same time that Jesus enters His ministry

o       Pharaoh demonstrates a “type” of God by representing in the physical world the attributes of God in the spiritual

§        Approximates the year to about 1715 BC.

§        Famine began in ~1708 BC and ended ~1700 BC according to corroborating archeological evidence.  There is an inscription that states “for 7 successive years the Nile did not overflow and the vegetation withered and failed; that the land was devoid of crops , and that during these years, famine and misery devastated the land of Egypt.” E.W. Bullinger, Companion Bible, note to Genesis 41:30

b.      Genesis 41:47 – And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls.

c.      Genesis 41:48 – And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which [was] round about every city, laid he up in the same.

§        Consider the logistics and storage facilities that had to be put in place before this could be accomplished.  Joseph would have had to appoint trusted men in charge of overseeing these collection locations and ensuring they were of unquestioned integrity

§        Would have had to build silos that withstood erosion and vermin that also remained dry to prevent rot.

§        This was a major undertaking and even though Joseph was placed in charge he would have had to quickly learned to delegate important responsibilities to capable workers.

d.      Genesis 41:49 – And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for [it was] without number.

§        Purchasing from Pharaoh’s treasury

e.      Genesis 41:50 – And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him.

§        Sons born between 1715 BC and 1708 BC, before the famine

f.       Genesis 41:51 – And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, [said he], hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house.

§        Manasseh – מנשה Mĕnashsheh, "causing to forget"

o       Joseph did forget his toil, but not his father’s house. 

o       These two tribes will become the chief tribes of the northern kingdom “House of Israel” could this be prophetically speaking of end-times era Israelites “forgetting” about their heritage?

o       Sometimes we forget that all the trouble of pain we go through on this earth is merely temporary

g.      Genesis 41:52 – And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.

§        Ephraim - אפרים 'Ephrayim, "double ash-heap: I shall be doubly fruitful"

o       Seems to encompass the 14 year stretch in one summary statement an ash-heap representing the 7 years famine and fruitful for the seven years of plenty.

o       So between the two we have forgetfulness and fruitfulness

h.      Genesis 41:53 – And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were ended.

§        Just as the Lord said

§        Joseph was the only one whom the Lord spoke through regarding the coming famine, what happened to the other nations

i.       Genesis 41:54 – And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

j.       Genesis 41:55 – And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do.

§        Notice that Pharaoh delegated this responsibility to Joseph, he did not try to take it back or take credit for it.  People came to Pharaoh seeking to obtain “salvation”, what did he say?  Go see Joseph.  When people attempt to obtain salvation today, what is the response?

o       John 14:6 - Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

o       No one has access to the Father’s silos but by the access granted by Jesus.

§        1 Thessalonians 5:9 - For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

o       We obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, the Egyptians obtained their “salvation” through Joseph.

k.      Genesis 41:56 – And the famine was over all the face of the earth: And Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt.

§        “face of the earth” – many translations say the land, likely that it was over the entire region

l.       Genesis 41:57 - And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy [corn]; because that the famine was [so] sore in all lands.

§        John 3:17 - For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

o       Does it say here that Israel might be saved? No, Jesus came to save the whole world, not just Israel.

o       Joseph, by saving Israel from whence Christ came, indirectly saved the whole world from sin, but also through his prudence saved all of the bordering countries from the famine.