Joseph's Brothers in Egypt

INTRO

We finish the first book of the Bible this week! Joseph’s purpose in Genesis was to preserve the seed. In Genesis 39–40, God was with Joseph and gave him favor and success.

TEACHING

Genesis 41: Two years after the cupbearer was released from prison, Pharaoh had a dream that needed interpretation. The cupbearer remembered Joseph, and Pharaoh pulled Joseph out of prison. Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream to mean there would be seven years of abundance and then seven years of famine. Joseph gave a strategy in response to the dream. Joseph suggested that Pharaoh place a man over the land in Egypt to store up grain during the years of abundance. Pharaoh exalted Joseph to that role.

Remember, 13 years earlier Joseph was in a pit, and now here he was in a palace. God’s promise to preserve the seed was happening through Joseph. Pharaoh gave Joseph a wife and a new name, Saphenath-paneah, meaning, “God speaks, and He lives.” Joseph was 30 years old when he began to implement the interpretation of the dream. He was in charge of everything except what Pharaoh ate.

Joseph had two sons: Manasseh, meaning “forget” and Ephraim, meaning “fruitful.” These two sons became part of the 12 tribes. Gideon came from the tribe of Manasseh. Joshua came from the tribe of Ephraim. God was expanding Joseph’s role and his family. Joseph was storing up the grain in all the storehouses all over Egypt. When the famine spread across the land, Joseph opened up the storehouses and sold grain. All the nations came to Egypt to buy grain. The seed was in jeopardy because of the famine. Genesis 12:3: “All the peoples on the earth will be blessed through you.” Joseph was playing a part in that promise!

Genesis 42:1–2: Jacob’s whole family was in danger. The trip to Egypt was a dangerous trip. Wiersbe wrote, “For one thing, the trip to Egypt was long (250–300 miles) and dangerous, and a round trip could consume six weeks’ time. Even after arriving in Egypt, the men couldn’t be certain of a friendly reception. As foreigners from Canaan, they would have been vulnerable and could have been arrested and enslaved.”¹Jacob knew there was more going on: “Then the Lord said to Abram, ‘Know this for certain: Your offspring will be foreigners in a land that does not belong to them; they will be enslaved and oppressed 400 years.’” (Genesis 15:13)

Genesis 42:3–8: Ten of Jacob’s sons were sent to Egypt to buy grain. Jacob kept Benjamin home because he was the only link left to Rachel. Israel’s sons were a part of every nation coming to Egypt. This was a national identity, a people group. Keep in mind that Israel didn’t became a nation until May 14, 1948.

Joseph sold grain to all peoples. It’s intriguing that Joseph was right there when the brothers came. God had to have orchestrated that! The brothers bowed down before Joseph. The dream! The sheaves bowing down (Genesis 37:7–9)! Twenty-one years later, the dream came to fruition. Joseph didn’t want to blow his cover yet, so he spoke to them harshly.They didn’t recognize Joseph—it was 21 years later, and he was dressed as an Egyptian.

Genesis 42:9: Joseph accused them of being spies. That was a normal accusation or thought of that time. Bruce Waltke wrote, “Frontier guards at Egypt’s Asian border routinely checked travelers to discover spies who might herald an imminent attack.”²Even in Israel today, they’re always watching for someone who might be coming to attack. Joseph accused them of being spies four times in this dialogue.

Genesis 42:10–15: JJoseph kept digging because he wanted more information. The brothers defended themselves. Why did they say 12 brothers? They still count Benjamin, at home with Jacob, and Joseph, who they think is dead. Joseph judged them to be spies and tested them. He told them they would not leave Egypt until their younger brother came. Joseph wanted to see Benjamin! In American society, you’re always innocent until proven guilty. In Egypt, we see the opposite. The brothers were guilty until proven innocent.

Genesis 42:16–20: Joseph was going to send the brothers to get Benjamin, but first, he imprisoned them all for three days. Maybe this is a taste of what he experienced in the prison for three years. On the third day, Joseph approached his brothers and spoke to them. This was the first time in this dialogue that Joseph acknowledged God verbally. “I fear God,” Joseph declared. This would be a highly unusual statement for an Egyptian to make. One brother was to stay back, and the rest were to go back to get Benjamin.

Genesis 42:21–23: The brother’s consciences were kicking in. They remembered their guilt from what they had done to Joseph. They concluded that this was why trouble had come to them. They discussed how Joseph had been in deep distress in the pit (Genesis 37) and regretted their decision. Reuben essentially said, “I told you!” They didn’t know Joseph had been listening or understanding because there had been an interpreter between them.

Genesis 42:24: Joseph lost it and wept. Joseph showed emotion over his family through weeping six times: (1) when he heard his brothers (Genesis 42); (2) when he saw Benjamin (Genesis 43); (3) when he revealed himself to his brothers (Genesis 45); (4) when he saw his father for the first time (Genesis 45); (5) when his father died (Genesis 50); and (6) when his brothers were fearful (Genesis 50)³This showed Joseph’s true character. Joseph kept Simeon in prison, likely because he realized that Reuben had defended him. Remember what Simeon and Levi did? At Schechem, they killed all the men for raping Dinah.

Genesis 42:25–32: Joseph handed their bags back with money—he played mind games. The brothers were fearful when they realized the money was in their bag. They questioned: “What is this God has done to us? Why is God judging us? Is it all catching up with us?”

Genesis 42:33–35: The brothers told Jacob the story of what happened in Egypt. They had to bring back Benjamin. At this point, everything had been laid on the table. The brothers realized the money had been returned to all of their sacks, and they were really nervous.

Genesis 42:36–37: Jacob said something we’ve all been thinking, “You’ve deprived me of my sons (Joseph and Simeon)! Now you want Benjamin?” Jacob was placing the guilt on his sons. Reuben offered his two sons as security. This is reminiscent of Lot offering his two virgin daughters (Genesis 19:8).

Genesis 42:38: Jacob did not want Benjamin to go. He allowed Benjamin to go, saying, “I know I don’t have an option, but if it ends badly, I’m done.”

CLOSING

Here we see Joseph living out the interpretation of the dreams, the sheaves bowing down, the seven years of abundance and then the seven years of famine. The nations had come to Joseph. His family had come to Joseph. Why? Because Joseph had been called to save the seed. Judah could not have continued on without Joseph.

Even as Joseph was faithful in the small things, God used that to continue the promise and saved a nation. It’s an incredible story of following the Seed all the way through the book of Genesis.