March 25, 2025 • 26 mins
Jacob sends his ten sons to buy grain in Egypt during a severe famine but keeps Benjamin home out of fear for his safety, revealing his distrust of his other sons even twenty years after Joseph's disappearance.
• Joseph, now governor of Egypt, recognizes his brothers when they bow before him, fulfilling his prophetic dreams
• Joseph tests his brothers by accusing them of being spies and demanding they bring Benjamin
• The brothers confess their guilt about selling Joseph when they think he can't understand them
• Finding their money mysteriously returned in their sacks terrifies the brothers and Jacob
Our journey through Genesis continues to reveal how God uses difficult circumstances to protect and continue the Messianic line while bringing about reconciliation and growth in the line of Israel, even decades after terrible sins have been committed.
Email: nathan@nathandietsche.com
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Grace and peace to you from God, our Father and our
Lord and Savior, jesus Christ.
Today we're in Genesis, chapter42, where Joseph's brothers go
down to Egypt, beginning inverse 1,.
When Jacob learned that therewas grain for sale in Egypt, he
said to his sons why do you lookat one another?
(00:20):
And he said Behold, I haveheard that there is grain for
sale in Egypt.
Go down and buy grain for usthere that we may live and not
die.
So ten of Joseph's brotherswent down to buy grain in Egypt,
but Jacob did not send BenjaminJoseph's brother, with his
(00:41):
brothers, for he feared thatharm might happen to him in the
land of Canaan.
Here we find Jacob with theeleven brothers, canaan.
(01:07):
Here we find Jacob with the 11brothers, and we're immediately
told that Jacob had become awarethat Egypt was selling grain,
and that tells us that the wordof Egypt's surplus during this
famine is traveling throughoutthe Far East, probably through
merchants and caravans.
Jacob says to his sons why doyou look at one another?
We see from Jacob's statementsthat his sons haven't grown into
(01:28):
the mature and hard-working menthat Jacob had hoped that they
would.
His question, why do you lookat one another implies a lack of
ambition and work to get thefamily help during this famine
that came upon them.
And Jacob tells his sons to godown to Egypt and buy some grain
.
But we're told that Jacobdidn't send Benjamin, the second
(01:51):
son of Rachel.
Benjamin would have been in hisearly 30s at this point, more
than capable of the journey, butJacob kept him back.
It's been 20 years now sinceJoseph was sold into slavery and
Jacob believed that he was dead.
It's clear Jacob didn't want tolose this last part that he had
(02:12):
of Rachel.
Furthermore, it shows us thatJacob didn't fully trust these
other sons.
He didn't trust them to protectBenjamin with their lives.
Perhaps it's an even greaterglimpse into how Jacob had
suspicions about Joseph'sdisappearance as well.
And then in verse 5, we're toldthat the famine was in the land
(02:34):
of Canaan.
Here in verse 5 of chapter 42,we see the details of what we
were told in Genesis, chapter 41, verse 57, when it said that
all of the land was coming toEgypt to buy grain.
So this famine was severe.
It had affected the entireregion or countryside around
(02:58):
Egypt.
All of the lands connected toCanaan, syria, arabia, were all
devastated by this famine Verse6.
Now Joseph was governor over theland.
He was the one who sold to allthe people of the land.
And Joseph's brothers came andbowed themselves before him with
(03:18):
their faces to the ground.
Joseph saw his brothers andrecognized them, but he treated
them like they were strangersand spoke roughly to them.
Where did you come from, hesaid?
They said from the land ofCanaan, to buy food.
And Joseph recognized hisbrothers, but they did not
(03:38):
recognize him.
And Joseph remembered thedreams that he had dreamed of
them and he said to them you arespies, you've come to see the
nakedness of the land.
They said to him no, my lord,your servants have come to buy
food.
We're all sons of one man.
We're honest men.
(03:59):
Your servants have never beenspies.
In these verses we are againreintroduced to how Joseph was
the governor over the land.
The Hebrew word for governorhere has the root of having
power.
It's also translated otherplaces as ruler.
We had learned in Genesis 41-40that Pharaoh had placed Joseph
(04:24):
over the entire land, second incharge only to Pharaoh himself.
From this verse we see thatJoseph was intimately involved
with the details of distributionon the ground level.
And his brothers came and theybowed down before him.
Here in verse 6, we begin to seethe fulfillment of Joseph's
(04:48):
prophetic dreams that he hadwhen he was only 17 years old,
back in Genesis 37.7 and 37.9-10, as his brothers bowed down to
him.
Now Joseph saw his brothers andhe knew who they were.
It had been 20 years, butJoseph was clearly able to
(05:09):
recognize his own brothers andit says he spoke roughly to them
After recognizing the brotherswho had sold him into slavery.
And they've come to Egypt nowfor grain.
He treats them with a stronghand.
The Hebrew word for roughlyhere can also be translated in
other areas harsh, fierce, sternor severe.
(05:32):
Its root means to make it heavy, make it hard, make it
difficult.
Joseph rightly and wisely beginsto test his brothers.
Joseph rightly and wiselybegins to test his brothers.
He was not about to give hisbrothers a pass after what they
had done to him and withoutknowing their current intentions
(05:53):
.
But his brothers did notrecognize him.
Joseph's outward appearance wasdramatically different than
when his brothers last saw him.
There were many things thatkept them from recognizing
Joseph, perhaps the greatest ofwhich was that they believed he
was dead.
Additionally, joseph was only ateenager, 17 years old, when he
(06:16):
was sold into slavery.
Now he has matured into a man.
Furthermore, his dress andappearance were that of a royal
Egyptian.
Joseph also treated them as ifthey were strangers, not even
hinting at recognizing them.
And finally, as we'll learnlater, there was an interpreter
(06:37):
between the two of them.
Joseph was acting as if hedidn't know their language.
And during this initialinteraction between Joseph and
his brothers, when they'rebowing down to him, joseph
remembered those dreams that Godhad given him 20 years prior,
where there were binding sheavesin the field.
And behold, his sheaf arose andstood upright and the sheaves
(07:02):
of his brothers gathered aroundand bowed down to him.
And his other dream, where thesun, the moon and eleven stars
were all bowing down to him.
And as this interactioncontinues, joseph accuses his
brothers of being spies.
(07:22):
Joseph's accusation of hisbrothers being spies is a
further way to test them.
The Hebrew word for spies herecould be translated a scout or a
messenger.
It comes from the root of afoot, which implies someone
who's scouting out a territoryon foot.
The brothers reply to Joseph'saccusation that they're spies as
(07:47):
an attempt to plead with him.
And as they do, they begin toreveal that they are all
brothers of one family.
And then they say we're honestmen.
Now, considering what hisbrothers did to him and knowing
of their treachery and deceitfullives in the past, this claim
(08:09):
that they're honest men likelydid more harm than good.
When Joseph heard it, the claimthat they were honest men was
falling on deaf ears and pickingup in verse 12, he said to them
no, it is the nakedness of theland that you've come to see.
And they said we, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons
(08:31):
of one man in the land of Canaan.
And behold, the youngest isthis day with our father, and
one is no more.
But Joseph said to them it isas I have said to you.
You are spies.
By this, you shall be tested bythe life of Pharaoh.
You shall not go from thisplace unless your youngest
(08:52):
brother comes here.
Send one of you and let himbring your brother while you
remain confined, that your wordsmay be tested, whether there's
truth in you or else by the lifeof Pharaoh.
Surely you are spies.
And he put them all together incustody for three days.
(09:16):
Again, joseph accuses hisbrothers of being spies and he
says it's because of thenakedness of the land that
they've come.
This phrase, the nakedness ofthe land that Joseph is using
isn't so much speaking of thefamine as much as how Egypt is
now in a compromised position.
(09:36):
He's accusing his brothers ofscouting out the defenselessness
of Egypt during the famine,considering how Joseph would
have been very young andimpressionable when his brothers
, levi and Simeon, slaughteredall of the men in the village of
Shechem, he very well may havethat in the back of his mind.
(09:58):
And with all of these things inhis mind and in consideration,
it's quite possible Josephbelieves his testing may be a
way in which the Lord will bringhis family to safety in Egypt
under his governance, and tofulfill the dreams that he's
remembering.
(10:18):
The dreams that he'sremembering.
In a desperate attempt to clearthis accusation of being spies,
the brothers give detailedfamily information describing
how they're 12 brothersaltogether, how the youngest
brother is still with theirfather, how one of their
(10:39):
brothers is dead and how they'refrom the land of Canaan.
But Joseph again says no, youare spies, and he uses the
phrase by the life of thePharaoh.
Now, in ancient culture, it wascommon to take an oath by the
king.
In Egypt, this was the highestoath one could make, as Pharaoh
(11:00):
was seen as the highest of allpriests, even considered a
living god with divine status tomediate between the Egyptian
occultic gods through ritualsand rites.
Now, while Joseph didn'tbelieve in any of that, as we
know, he feared God.
Perhaps it had just become anexpression that he used while
(11:24):
living in Egypt, or perhaps itwas a way to further throw his
brothers off from knowingexactly who he was.
And Joseph said you shall betested, because his brothers
claimed to be honest men.
Joseph is now telling them thatthey will be tested to see if
(11:45):
they are honest by their claimof the youngest brother.
He says you shall not go fromthis place unless your youngest
brother comes here Again.
Considering what these brothersdid to Joseph, he wants to
confirm that they didn't do thesame thing to his younger
brother, benjamin.
And Joseph's initial words arethat only one of the brothers
(12:08):
would be able to leave and getthe younger brother, benjamin.
Perhaps this was just a firstreaction from Joseph, or perhaps
it was a wise plan to havethese brothers sit and think
about who's going to be the oneto go back and talk to Jacob,
(12:28):
and Joseph put them in custodyfor three days.
So the brothers had three daysto discuss long and hard about
who's going to be that onebrother to go free and go tell
their father Jacob Verse 18.
On the third day, joseph saidto them Do this and you will
live, for I fear God.
(12:49):
If you're honest men, let oneof your brothers remain confined
where you are in custody andlet the rest go and carry grain
for the famine of yourhouseholds and bring your
youngest brother to me.
So your words will be Threedays after being in prison,
(13:11):
joseph gives his brothers theconditions that he has for
sparing their lives.
The first condition whichGovernor Joseph has to give them
a chance to live is that hefears God.
Now, this statement coming froman Egyptian governor to the ten
sons of Israel must seem kindof peculiar.
(13:31):
However, considering how he hadjust sworn to the Pharaoh a
couple of days ago, it wasprobably about as clear as mud.
Pharaoh a couple of days ago,it was probably about as clear
as mud.
The second condition forsparing their lives was that
their own claim was that theywere honest men.
If they were telling the truthabout their youngest brother,
(13:51):
their lives would be spared.
The third condition for sparingtheir lives would be that they
would have to physically bringBenjamin to Egypt and meet this
Lord and governor Verse 21,.
Then they said to one anotherIn truth, we're guilty
concerning our brother in thatwe saw the distress of his soul
(14:16):
when he begged us and we did notlisten.
That's why this distress hascome upon us.
And Reuben answered them Did Inot tell you not to sin against
the boy?
But you did not listen.
So now there comes a reckoningfor his blood.
They did not know that Josephunderstood them, for there was
(14:38):
an interpreter between them.
Then he turned away from themand wept and he returned to them
and spoke to them and he tookSimeon from them and bound him
before their eyes.
In these verses, the tenbrothers start to have a
conversation amongst themselvesin Hebrew.
Believing Joseph doesn'tunderstand them.
(14:58):
They start talking about howthey were guilty concerning what
they did to Joseph 20 years ago.
After being imprisonedthemselves in Egypt and
confronted with what that lookslike, they started to talk about
their guilt and what they haddone to their brother.
They mentioned the distress inhis soul when they were selling
(15:22):
him.
That describes the anguish ofJoseph's heart as he's being
sold into slavery to theMidianites.
These brothers continue todescribe the terror-filled
screams of a teenage boy as hebegged them not to sell him.
But they did not listen as hewas dragged away from his home
(15:44):
and sold as a slave.
And now they feel that God ispunishing them for what they did
to Joseph those 20 years ago.
As they're discussing this,reuben speaks up and says did I
not tell you not to sin againsthim?
Now there comes a reckoning forhis blood.
(16:04):
The reckoning for blood is areference to one of God's
promises for justice early inearth's history, even beginning
with the blood of Abel inGenesis 4.10, back when the Lord
said what have you done?
The voice of your brother'sblood is crying to me from the
ground.
But then the Lord restated itwith a general purpose for all
(16:28):
of mankind, after the flood ofNoah, in Genesis 9, 5 and 6,
where the Lord told Noah Foryour lifeblood, I will require a
reckoning.
From every beast I will requireit, and from man, from his
fellow man, I will require areckoning for the life of man.
(16:49):
Whoever sheds the blood of manby man, his blood be shed For.
God made man in his own image.
Back in Genesis, chapter 42,verse 23, we saw that prior to
this there was an interpreter,and so his brothers did not know
that Joseph was understandingwhat they were saying at this
(17:10):
point and Joseph's reaction tohearing his brothers consider
their actions and how they werewrong against him.
They now deserve the justice ofbloodshed.
It moved Joseph to tears.
So, governor Joseph turns away.
So they would not know that ithad any impact on him.
(17:32):
After hearing this conversationof his brothers and recognizing
that Reuben was actuallystanding up for him, joseph
didn't hold his oldest brother,reuben, accountable, but instead
he held Simeon accountable.
In front of all of them.
Simeon is the second oldestbrother.
(17:53):
Now there are writings fromsome of the old Jewish rabbis
that believe what Joseph isdoing here is a form of
retaliation for what Simeon haddone in the past.
Perhaps, if those records areaccurate, simeon was the
instigator of wanting to killJoseph and was the one who
actually bound him and put himin the pit.
(18:15):
When the brothers agreed to sellhim Verse 25, and Joseph gave
orders to fill their bags withgrain and to replace every man's
money in his sack and to givethem provisions for the journey.
This was done for them.
Here in verse 25, joseph beginsto become the provider and
(18:38):
protector of his family.
First, joseph gives specificorders to fill all ten of the
brothers' bags with grain.
Second, joseph gives orders toreplace the money they had used
to pay for the grain back intheir sacks.
And then, third, josephprovides for the needed supplies
(19:04):
so they can make it back homesafely Verse 26.
Then they loaded their donkeyswith their grain and departed.
And as one of them opened hissack to give his donkey fodder
at the lodging place, he saw hismoney in the mouth of his sack.
He said to his brothers mymoney has been put back here in
the mouth of my sack.
At this their hearts failedthem and they turned trembling
(19:28):
one to another, saying what isthis that God has done to us?
So when the ten brothers ofIsrael had traveled an entire
day, they stopped for the nightat a lodging place and as they
began to open their sacks tofeed their donkeys, one of them
noticed the money pouch in themouth of his sack.
(19:49):
And the guilt that they hadtalked about earlier, about
selling Joseph into slavery, wasstill fresh in their minds and
they became afraid.
They said what is it that Godhas done?
The brothers clearly believethat the Lord is working against
them.
He's going to bring furtherharm to them because of their
(20:12):
sin against Joseph Verse 29.
(20:36):
Men, we have never been spies.
We are twelve brothers, sons ofour father.
One is no more, and theyoungest is this day with our
father in the land of Canaan.
Then the man, the lord of theland, said to us by this, I
shall know that you are honestmen.
Leave one of your brothers withme and take grain for the
(20:57):
famine of your households and goyour way.
Bring your youngest brother tome.
Then I shall know you are notspies, but honest men, and I
will deliver your brother to youand you shall trade in the land
.
Here, in verses 29-34, we aretold about the nine sons of
(21:20):
Jacob that safely returned tohim in the land of Canaan,
returning without their brother,brother Simeon.
And when they had come to Jacob, they told him all that had
happened.
Now, their recount of what hadhappened in Egypt to their
father, jacob, was fairlyaccurate and it included all
that had happened in a generalsense.
(21:41):
However, they did leave outsome of the most important
details about the currentsituation and threats that they
now faced.
They didn't tell Jacob thatthey had been put in prison for
three days.
They didn't tell Jacob that theLord of the Land threatened to
have them executed if theydidn't return with Benjamin.
(22:03):
They didn't tell Jacob thatSimeon was currently in bonds
and in prison and they didn'ttell Jacob that they had found
some silver in one of the bagsat the lodging stop on their way
back.
They did, however, mentionJoseph only as the man, the lord
of the land, and they used thatphrase twice.
(22:25):
That description shows theystill didn't recognize who
Joseph was.
Verse 35.
As they emptied their sacks,behold, every man's bundle of
money was in his sack, and whenthey and their father saw their
bundles of money they wereafraid.
(22:47):
Now we see that they didn'trealize at first that all of the
money had been returned.
Here we see that at thatlodging place only one brother
realized the money was returned,not all of them.
Now that they're unloading backin the land of Canaan at their
home, unpacking from this longjourney, they find it wasn't
(23:12):
just one man that had his moneybag returned, but it was all of
the men and all of the moneythat they had taken to Egypt and
they were afraid.
Realizing that this was anintentional return of their
money brought great fear uponboth the brothers and on Jacob.
The brothers likely believedGod was going to further punish
(23:37):
them for what they had done totheir brother and perhaps in
some way was going to entrapthem for stealing.
Jacob, we are told, was afraidhe had lost yet another son,
simeon, verse 36,.
And Jacob, their father, saidto them you have bereaved me of
(23:57):
my children.
Joseph is no more and Simeon nomore, and now you would take
Benjamin.
All this has come against me.
Then Reuben said to his fatherKill my two sons.
If I do not bring him back toyou, put him in my hands, I will
bring him back to you.
But he said, my son shall notgo down with you, for his
(24:22):
brother is dead and he is theonly one left.
If harm should happen to him onthe journey that you are to
make, you would bring down mygray hairs with sorrow to shoal
After having found all of theirmoney back in their sacks.
Jacob's response is you havebereaved me of my children.
(24:44):
It's clear from Jacob'sstatements that he did not trust
what these nine sons weresaying or what they did.
From Jacob's comments here andhis past attitudes towards these
sons, we can conclude thatJacob has long been suspicious
of their scheming activities.
Does he suspect that Joseph wassold into slavery and now
(25:09):
suspect they sold Simeon Maybe.
But what is clear is that theconstant bad behavior from these
brothers has certainlyingrained in Jacob a lifelong
track record of them beinguntrustworthy.
But Reuben, the oldest brother,feels an obligation to make
(25:32):
things right.
He insists that he can bringBenjamin back safely from Egypt
if Jacob will let him go backsafely from Egypt, if Jacob will
let him go.
Reuben even tells Jacob he cankill his two sons if he doesn't
come back safely with Benjamin.
But Jacob refuses to allowReuben to take Benjamin to Egypt
.
He says that his brother,joseph, is dead and he's the
(25:55):
only one left.
Jacob is not going to risklosing his only other son from
Rachel and he says that thegrief of losing him would be so
great that he would die from hismisery.
Thank you for joining me thisweek.
Join me next week for Joseph'sbrothers return to Egypt.
(26:21):
God bless you this week.
Grace and peace to you from God, our Father and our
Lord and Savior, jesus Christ.
Today we're in Genesis, chapter42, where Joseph's brothers go
down to Egypt, beginning inverse 1,.
When Jacob learned that therewas grain for sale in Egypt, he
said to his sons why do you lookat one another?
(00:20):
And he said Behold, I haveheard that there is grain for
sale in Egypt.
Go down and buy grain for usthere that we may live and not
die.
So ten of Joseph's brotherswent down to buy grain in Egypt,
but Jacob did not send BenjaminJoseph's brother, with his
(00:41):
brothers, for he feared thatharm might happen to him in the
land of Canaan.
Here we find Jacob with theeleven brothers, canaan.
(01:07):
Here we find Jacob with the 11brothers, and we're immediately
told that Jacob had become awarethat Egypt was selling grain,
and that tells us that the wordof Egypt's surplus during this
famine is traveling throughoutthe Far East, probably through
merchants and caravans.
Jacob says to his sons why doyou look at one another?
We see from Jacob's statementsthat his sons haven't grown into
(01:28):
the mature and hard-working menthat Jacob had hoped that they
would.
His question, why do you lookat one another implies a lack of
ambition and work to get thefamily help during this famine
that came upon them.
And Jacob tells his sons to godown to Egypt and buy some grain
.
But we're told that Jacobdidn't send Benjamin, the second
(01:51):
son of Rachel.
Benjamin would have been in hisearly 30s at this point, more
than capable of the journey, butJacob kept him back.
It's been 20 years now sinceJoseph was sold into slavery and
Jacob believed that he was dead.
It's clear Jacob didn't want tolose this last part that he had
(02:12):
of Rachel.
Furthermore, it shows us thatJacob didn't fully trust these
other sons.
He didn't trust them to protectBenjamin with their lives.
Perhaps it's an even greaterglimpse into how Jacob had
suspicions about Joseph'sdisappearance as well.
And then in verse 5, we're toldthat the famine was in the land
(02:34):
of Canaan.
Here in verse 5 of chapter 42,we see the details of what we
were told in Genesis, chapter 41, verse 57, when it said that
all of the land was coming toEgypt to buy grain.
So this famine was severe.
It had affected the entireregion or countryside around
(02:58):
Egypt.
All of the lands connected toCanaan, syria, arabia, were all
devastated by this famine Verse6.
Now Joseph was governor over theland.
He was the one who sold to allthe people of the land.
And Joseph's brothers came andbowed themselves before him with
(03:18):
their faces to the ground.
Joseph saw his brothers andrecognized them, but he treated
them like they were strangersand spoke roughly to them.
Where did you come from, hesaid?
They said from the land ofCanaan, to buy food.
And Joseph recognized hisbrothers, but they did not
(03:38):
recognize him.
And Joseph remembered thedreams that he had dreamed of
them and he said to them you arespies, you've come to see the
nakedness of the land.
They said to him no, my lord,your servants have come to buy
food.
We're all sons of one man.
We're honest men.
(03:59):
Your servants have never beenspies.
In these verses we are againreintroduced to how Joseph was
the governor over the land.
The Hebrew word for governorhere has the root of having
power.
It's also translated otherplaces as ruler.
We had learned in Genesis 41-40that Pharaoh had placed Joseph
(04:24):
over the entire land, second incharge only to Pharaoh himself.
From this verse we see thatJoseph was intimately involved
with the details of distributionon the ground level.
And his brothers came and theybowed down before him.
Here in verse 6, we begin to seethe fulfillment of Joseph's
(04:48):
prophetic dreams that he hadwhen he was only 17 years old,
back in Genesis 37.7 and 37.9-10, as his brothers bowed down to
him.
Now Joseph saw his brothers andhe knew who they were.
It had been 20 years, butJoseph was clearly able to
(05:09):
recognize his own brothers andit says he spoke roughly to them
After recognizing the brotherswho had sold him into slavery.
And they've come to Egypt nowfor grain.
He treats them with a stronghand.
The Hebrew word for roughlyhere can also be translated in
other areas harsh, fierce, sternor severe.
(05:32):
Its root means to make it heavy, make it hard, make it
difficult.
Joseph rightly and wisely beginsto test his brothers.
Joseph rightly and wiselybegins to test his brothers.
He was not about to give hisbrothers a pass after what they
had done to him and withoutknowing their current intentions
(05:53):
.
But his brothers did notrecognize him.
Joseph's outward appearance wasdramatically different than
when his brothers last saw him.
There were many things thatkept them from recognizing
Joseph, perhaps the greatest ofwhich was that they believed he
was dead.
Additionally, joseph was only ateenager, 17 years old, when he
(06:16):
was sold into slavery.
Now he has matured into a man.
Furthermore, his dress andappearance were that of a royal
Egyptian.
Joseph also treated them as ifthey were strangers, not even
hinting at recognizing them.
And finally, as we'll learnlater, there was an interpreter
(06:37):
between the two of them.
Joseph was acting as if hedidn't know their language.
And during this initialinteraction between Joseph and
his brothers, when they'rebowing down to him, joseph
remembered those dreams that Godhad given him 20 years prior,
where there were binding sheavesin the field.
And behold, his sheaf arose andstood upright and the sheaves
(07:02):
of his brothers gathered aroundand bowed down to him.
And his other dream, where thesun, the moon and eleven stars
were all bowing down to him.
And as this interactioncontinues, joseph accuses his
brothers of being spies.
(07:22):
Joseph's accusation of hisbrothers being spies is a
further way to test them.
The Hebrew word for spies herecould be translated a scout or a
messenger.
It comes from the root of afoot, which implies someone
who's scouting out a territoryon foot.
The brothers reply to Joseph'saccusation that they're spies as
(07:47):
an attempt to plead with him.
And as they do, they begin toreveal that they are all
brothers of one family.
And then they say we're honestmen.
Now, considering what hisbrothers did to him and knowing
of their treachery and deceitfullives in the past, this claim
(08:09):
that they're honest men likelydid more harm than good.
When Joseph heard it, the claimthat they were honest men was
falling on deaf ears and pickingup in verse 12, he said to them
no, it is the nakedness of theland that you've come to see.
And they said we, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons
(08:31):
of one man in the land of Canaan.
And behold, the youngest isthis day with our father, and
one is no more.
But Joseph said to them it isas I have said to you.
You are spies.
By this, you shall be tested bythe life of Pharaoh.
You shall not go from thisplace unless your youngest
(08:52):
brother comes here.
Send one of you and let himbring your brother while you
remain confined, that your wordsmay be tested, whether there's
truth in you or else by the lifeof Pharaoh.
Surely you are spies.
And he put them all together incustody for three days.
(09:16):
Again, joseph accuses hisbrothers of being spies and he
says it's because of thenakedness of the land that
they've come.
This phrase, the nakedness ofthe land that Joseph is using
isn't so much speaking of thefamine as much as how Egypt is
now in a compromised position.
(09:36):
He's accusing his brothers ofscouting out the defenselessness
of Egypt during the famine,considering how Joseph would
have been very young andimpressionable when his brothers
, levi and Simeon, slaughteredall of the men in the village of
Shechem, he very well may havethat in the back of his mind.
(09:58):
And with all of these things inhis mind and in consideration,
it's quite possible Josephbelieves his testing may be a
way in which the Lord will bringhis family to safety in Egypt
under his governance, and tofulfill the dreams that he's
remembering.
(10:18):
The dreams that he'sremembering.
In a desperate attempt to clearthis accusation of being spies,
the brothers give detailedfamily information describing
how they're 12 brothersaltogether, how the youngest
brother is still with theirfather, how one of their
(10:39):
brothers is dead and how they'refrom the land of Canaan.
But Joseph again says no, youare spies, and he uses the
phrase by the life of thePharaoh.
Now, in ancient culture, it wascommon to take an oath by the
king.
In Egypt, this was the highestoath one could make, as Pharaoh
(11:00):
was seen as the highest of allpriests, even considered a
living god with divine status tomediate between the Egyptian
occultic gods through ritualsand rites.
Now, while Joseph didn'tbelieve in any of that, as we
know, he feared God.
Perhaps it had just become anexpression that he used while
(11:24):
living in Egypt, or perhaps itwas a way to further throw his
brothers off from knowingexactly who he was.
And Joseph said you shall betested, because his brothers
claimed to be honest men.
Joseph is now telling them thatthey will be tested to see if
(11:45):
they are honest by their claimof the youngest brother.
He says you shall not go fromthis place unless your youngest
brother comes here Again.
Considering what these brothersdid to Joseph, he wants to
confirm that they didn't do thesame thing to his younger
brother, benjamin.
And Joseph's initial words arethat only one of the brothers
(12:08):
would be able to leave and getthe younger brother, benjamin.
Perhaps this was just a firstreaction from Joseph, or perhaps
it was a wise plan to havethese brothers sit and think
about who's going to be the oneto go back and talk to Jacob,
(12:28):
and Joseph put them in custodyfor three days.
So the brothers had three daysto discuss long and hard about
who's going to be that onebrother to go free and go tell
their father Jacob Verse 18.
On the third day, joseph saidto them Do this and you will
live, for I fear God.
(12:49):
If you're honest men, let oneof your brothers remain confined
where you are in custody andlet the rest go and carry grain
for the famine of yourhouseholds and bring your
youngest brother to me.
So your words will be Threedays after being in prison,
(13:11):
joseph gives his brothers theconditions that he has for
sparing their lives.
The first condition whichGovernor Joseph has to give them
a chance to live is that hefears God.
Now, this statement coming froman Egyptian governor to the ten
sons of Israel must seem kindof peculiar.
(13:31):
However, considering how he hadjust sworn to the Pharaoh a
couple of days ago, it wasprobably about as clear as mud.
Pharaoh a couple of days ago,it was probably about as clear
as mud.
The second condition forsparing their lives was that
their own claim was that theywere honest men.
If they were telling the truthabout their youngest brother,
(13:51):
their lives would be spared.
The third condition for sparingtheir lives would be that they
would have to physically bringBenjamin to Egypt and meet this
Lord and governor Verse 21,.
Then they said to one anotherIn truth, we're guilty
concerning our brother in thatwe saw the distress of his soul
(14:16):
when he begged us and we did notlisten.
That's why this distress hascome upon us.
And Reuben answered them Did Inot tell you not to sin against
the boy?
But you did not listen.
So now there comes a reckoningfor his blood.
They did not know that Josephunderstood them, for there was
(14:38):
an interpreter between them.
Then he turned away from themand wept and he returned to them
and spoke to them and he tookSimeon from them and bound him
before their eyes.
In these verses, the tenbrothers start to have a
conversation amongst themselvesin Hebrew.
Believing Joseph doesn'tunderstand them.
(14:58):
They start talking about howthey were guilty concerning what
they did to Joseph 20 years ago.
After being imprisonedthemselves in Egypt and
confronted with what that lookslike, they started to talk about
their guilt and what they haddone to their brother.
They mentioned the distress inhis soul when they were selling
(15:22):
him.
That describes the anguish ofJoseph's heart as he's being
sold into slavery to theMidianites.
These brothers continue todescribe the terror-filled
screams of a teenage boy as hebegged them not to sell him.
But they did not listen as hewas dragged away from his home
(15:44):
and sold as a slave.
And now they feel that God ispunishing them for what they did
to Joseph those 20 years ago.
As they're discussing this,reuben speaks up and says did I
not tell you not to sin againsthim?
Now there comes a reckoning forhis blood.
(16:04):
The reckoning for blood is areference to one of God's
promises for justice early inearth's history, even beginning
with the blood of Abel inGenesis 4.10, back when the Lord
said what have you done?
The voice of your brother'sblood is crying to me from the
ground.
But then the Lord restated itwith a general purpose for all
(16:28):
of mankind, after the flood ofNoah, in Genesis 9, 5 and 6,
where the Lord told Noah Foryour lifeblood, I will require a
reckoning.
From every beast I will requireit, and from man, from his
fellow man, I will require areckoning for the life of man.
(16:49):
Whoever sheds the blood of manby man, his blood be shed For.
God made man in his own image.
Back in Genesis, chapter 42,verse 23, we saw that prior to
this there was an interpreter,and so his brothers did not know
that Joseph was understandingwhat they were saying at this
(17:10):
point and Joseph's reaction tohearing his brothers consider
their actions and how they werewrong against him.
They now deserve the justice ofbloodshed.
It moved Joseph to tears.
So, governor Joseph turns away.
So they would not know that ithad any impact on him.
(17:32):
After hearing this conversationof his brothers and recognizing
that Reuben was actuallystanding up for him, joseph
didn't hold his oldest brother,reuben, accountable, but instead
he held Simeon accountable.
In front of all of them.
Simeon is the second oldestbrother.
(17:53):
Now there are writings fromsome of the old Jewish rabbis
that believe what Joseph isdoing here is a form of
retaliation for what Simeon haddone in the past.
Perhaps, if those records areaccurate, simeon was the
instigator of wanting to killJoseph and was the one who
actually bound him and put himin the pit.
(18:15):
When the brothers agreed to sellhim Verse 25, and Joseph gave
orders to fill their bags withgrain and to replace every man's
money in his sack and to givethem provisions for the journey.
This was done for them.
Here in verse 25, joseph beginsto become the provider and
(18:38):
protector of his family.
First, joseph gives specificorders to fill all ten of the
brothers' bags with grain.
Second, joseph gives orders toreplace the money they had used
to pay for the grain back intheir sacks.
And then, third, josephprovides for the needed supplies
(19:04):
so they can make it back homesafely Verse 26.
Then they loaded their donkeyswith their grain and departed.
And as one of them opened hissack to give his donkey fodder
at the lodging place, he saw hismoney in the mouth of his sack.
He said to his brothers mymoney has been put back here in
the mouth of my sack.
At this their hearts failedthem and they turned trembling
(19:28):
one to another, saying what isthis that God has done to us?
So when the ten brothers ofIsrael had traveled an entire
day, they stopped for the nightat a lodging place and as they
began to open their sacks tofeed their donkeys, one of them
noticed the money pouch in themouth of his sack.
(19:49):
And the guilt that they hadtalked about earlier, about
selling Joseph into slavery, wasstill fresh in their minds and
they became afraid.
They said what is it that Godhas done?
The brothers clearly believethat the Lord is working against
them.
He's going to bring furtherharm to them because of their
(20:12):
sin against Joseph Verse 29.
(20:36):
Men, we have never been spies.
We are twelve brothers, sons ofour father.
One is no more, and theyoungest is this day with our
father in the land of Canaan.
Then the man, the lord of theland, said to us by this, I
shall know that you are honestmen.
Leave one of your brothers withme and take grain for the
(20:57):
famine of your households and goyour way.
Bring your youngest brother tome.
Then I shall know you are notspies, but honest men, and I
will deliver your brother to youand you shall trade in the land
.
Here, in verses 29-34, we aretold about the nine sons of
(21:20):
Jacob that safely returned tohim in the land of Canaan,
returning without their brother,brother Simeon.
And when they had come to Jacob, they told him all that had
happened.
Now, their recount of what hadhappened in Egypt to their
father, jacob, was fairlyaccurate and it included all
that had happened in a generalsense.
(21:41):
However, they did leave outsome of the most important
details about the currentsituation and threats that they
now faced.
They didn't tell Jacob thatthey had been put in prison for
three days.
They didn't tell Jacob that theLord of the Land threatened to
have them executed if theydidn't return with Benjamin.
(22:03):
They didn't tell Jacob thatSimeon was currently in bonds
and in prison and they didn'ttell Jacob that they had found
some silver in one of the bagsat the lodging stop on their way
back.
They did, however, mentionJoseph only as the man, the lord
of the land, and they used thatphrase twice.
(22:25):
That description shows theystill didn't recognize who
Joseph was.
Verse 35.
As they emptied their sacks,behold, every man's bundle of
money was in his sack, and whenthey and their father saw their
bundles of money they wereafraid.
(22:47):
Now we see that they didn'trealize at first that all of the
money had been returned.
Here we see that at thatlodging place only one brother
realized the money was returned,not all of them.
Now that they're unloading backin the land of Canaan at their
home, unpacking from this longjourney, they find it wasn't
(23:12):
just one man that had his moneybag returned, but it was all of
the men and all of the moneythat they had taken to Egypt and
they were afraid.
Realizing that this was anintentional return of their
money brought great fear uponboth the brothers and on Jacob.
The brothers likely believedGod was going to further punish
(23:37):
them for what they had done totheir brother and perhaps in
some way was going to entrapthem for stealing.
Jacob, we are told, was afraidhe had lost yet another son,
simeon, verse 36,.
And Jacob, their father, saidto them you have bereaved me of
(23:57):
my children.
Joseph is no more and Simeon nomore, and now you would take
Benjamin.
All this has come against me.
Then Reuben said to his fatherKill my two sons.
If I do not bring him back toyou, put him in my hands, I will
bring him back to you.
But he said, my son shall notgo down with you, for his
(24:22):
brother is dead and he is theonly one left.
If harm should happen to him onthe journey that you are to
make, you would bring down mygray hairs with sorrow to shoal
After having found all of theirmoney back in their sacks.
Jacob's response is you havebereaved me of my children.
(24:44):
It's clear from Jacob'sstatements that he did not trust
what these nine sons weresaying or what they did.
From Jacob's comments here andhis past attitudes towards these
sons, we can conclude thatJacob has long been suspicious
of their scheming activities.
Does he suspect that Joseph wassold into slavery and now
(25:09):
suspect they sold Simeon Maybe.
But what is clear is that theconstant bad behavior from these
brothers has certainlyingrained in Jacob a lifelong
track record of them beinguntrustworthy.
But Reuben, the oldest brother,feels an obligation to make
(25:32):
things right.
He insists that he can bringBenjamin back safely from Egypt
if Jacob will let him go backsafely from Egypt, if Jacob will
let him go.
Reuben even tells Jacob he cankill his two sons if he doesn't
come back safely with Benjamin.
But Jacob refuses to allowReuben to take Benjamin to Egypt
.
He says that his brother,joseph, is dead and he's the
(25:55):
only one left.
Jacob is not going to risklosing his only other son from
Rachel and he says that thegrief of losing him would be so
great that he would die from hismisery.
Thank you for joining me thisweek.
Join me next week for Joseph'sbrothers return to Egypt.
(26:21):
God bless you this week.
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