|
Notes on Genesis 43
As the Lord had shown Joseph previously, the
famine was bad, making it impossible for Jacob and his family to
survive without returning to Egypt where Joseph by his knowledge of
God had the wisdom to provide not only for the Egyptians but also
for the surrounding countries that also had famine.
- Genesis 43:2 And it came to
pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out
of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little
food.
- 3 And Judah spoke
unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying,
Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.
- 4 If thou wilt send
our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food:
- 5 But if thou wilt
not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye
shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.
- 6 And Israel said,
Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye
had yet a brother?
Jacob wondered why they would even have told
the Egyptians that they had a brother, not knowing that the man they
spoke to inquired to purposely find out about the welfare of
Benjamin and Jacob. Perhaps Joseph worried that his brothers would
have done away with Benjamin too. He probably figured that if they
sold himself (Joseph) into slavery they might not have changed and
might have done the same to Benjamin.
-
Genesis 43:7 And they said, The man
asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is
your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him
according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know
that he would say, Bring your brother down?
They had no idea that the man was Joseph and
the inquiries would lead to bringing Benjamin down to Egypt. I still
suspect that Jacob may have distrusted his sons and suspected them
of harming Joseph.
- Genesis 43:8 And Judah said
unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise
and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and
also our little ones.
- 9 I will be surety
for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not
unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame
forever:
Judah was willing to take responsibility for
the safety of Benjamin. This shows that they truly did have a change
of heart for selling Joseph the way they did previously.
- Genesis 43:10 For except we
had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time.
- 11 And their father
Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of
the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the
man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and
myrrh, nuts, and almonds:
- 12 And take double
money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the
mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure
it was an oversight:
Jacob was an honest man who wanted to give
back the money that was found in their sacks. Perhaps also he was
hoping this act would show the Egyptian that they were sincere and
thus insuring the safety of his children.
- Genesis 43:13 Take also your
brother, and arise, go again unto the man:
- 14 And God Almighty
give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other
brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am
bereaved.
- 15 And the men took
that present, and they took double money in their hand, and
Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before
Joseph.
- 16 And when Joseph
saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring
these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall
dine with me at noon.
How Joseph longed after his brothers.
Naturally he would have been closest to Benjamin for Benjamin was
his full brother, having the same mother and father.
- Genesis 43:17 And the man did
as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.
- 18 And the men were
afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they
said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the
first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against
us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses.
This type of thing just wasn't done normally.
To have strangers who only came to buy food invited to the household
of the second ruler of the land, probably seemed strange to them.
- Genesis 43:19 And they came
near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they communed with
him at the door of the house,
- 20 And said, O sir,
we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:
- 21 And it came to
pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and,
behold, every man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our
money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand.
- 22 And other money
have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell
who put our money in our sacks.
- 23 And he said,
Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father,
hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he
brought Simeon out unto them.
Joseph did not forget Simeon who had been in
ward all that time awaiting the return of his brothers.
- Genesis 43:24 And the man
brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water, and
they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender.
- 25 And they made
ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard
that they should eat bread there.
They made themselves ready to dine with this
important figure in Egypt. As will all rulers, they could not just
waltz in without preparation.
- Genesis 43:26 And when Joseph
came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand
into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth.
- 27 And he asked
them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old
man of whom ye spoke? Is he yet alive?
I wonder if the brothers had wondered why so
much concern from a stranger about their father.
- Genesis 43:28 And they
answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet
alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.
- 29 And he lifted up
his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and
said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spoke unto me?
And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.
- 30 And Joseph made
haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought
where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.
Joseph had a hard time pretending to feel
impartial and harsh when he was a person of great compassion and
loved his family.
- Genesis 43:31 And he washed
his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on
bread.
- 32 And they set on
for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the
Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the
Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an
abomination unto the Egyptians.
In other words the Egyptians was what we
would call in today's world, racists. They thought they were above
the Hebrews.
How would a strange Egyptian possibly know
their ages and who was born first? Joseph seemed to have been giving
them little hints of who he was.
Perhaps Joseph purposely gave Benjamin bigger
portions to test his brethren to see if they still had the evil
jealousy that provoked their treatment of him in earlier years. This
would stir that up if in fact the jealousy was still there.
I'm sure we also have to fight envy in our
lives today. Envy is very dangerous because it leads to sin if we do
not overcome it. Those brothers had to live with what they did. The
guilt must have been tremendous. This came about because they could
not overcome the feelings of envy toward Joseph.
Perhaps someone got the promotion or raise
that we thought we deserved. A friend may have gotten an A when we
got a C. Instead of being happy for them, we pout and whine about
the unfairness of it all. God sees all this and He knows all about
it. If we could only trust in Him, He will work things out for those
who trust Him. We don't have to be like the world that teaches
selfishness and self-centeredness. We can be different when we turn
our lives over to Jesus Christ, receiving the forgiveness of sin and
the gift of the Holy Spirit. Only through Him can we overcome the
flesh and walk in the spirit. We don't have to be a slave to sin and
end up with a life of misery over the guilt from our actions.
Prisons are full of people who did things out of envy or anger and
later lived to regret it.
Genesis 44
|
|