Joseph's Brothers Go to Egypt

JOSEPH’S BROTHERS GO TO EGYPT

An Exposition of Genesis 42:1-38

By Pastor Brian Wilbur

Date: June 23, 2024

Series: The Book of Genesis

Note: Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard   Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

THE SCRIPTURAL TEXT

Holy Scripture says:

¹ When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” ² And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.”³ So ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt.⁴ But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might happen to him. ⁵ Thus the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

⁶ Now Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph's brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground.⁷ Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. “Where do you come from?” he said. They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.” ⁸ And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. ⁹ And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. And he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land.” ¹⁰ They said to him, “No, my lord, your servants have come to buy food. ¹¹ We are all sons of one man. We are honest men. Your servants have never been spies.”

¹² He said to them, “No, it is the nakedness of the land that you have come to see.” ¹³ And they said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no more.” ¹⁴ But Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you. You are spies. ¹⁵ By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. ¹⁶ Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.”¹⁷ And he put them all together in custody for three days.

¹⁸ On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: ¹⁹ if you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody, and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households, ²⁰ and bring your youngest brother to me. So your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so. ²¹ Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” ²² And Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.”²³ They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them. ²⁴ Then he turned away from them and wept. And he returned to them and spoke to them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. ²⁵ And Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, and to replace every man's money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. This was done for them.

²⁶ Then they loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed.²⁷ And as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his money in the mouth of his sack.²⁸ He said to his brothers, “My money has been put back; here it is in the mouth of my sack!” At this their hearts failed them, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”

²⁹ When they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them, saying, ³⁰ “The man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us and took us to be spies of the land. ³¹ But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we have never been spies. ³² We are twelve brothers, sons of our father. One is no more, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.’ ³³ Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I shall know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for the famine of your households, and go your way. ³⁴ Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I shall know that you are not spies but honest men, and I will deliver your brother to you, and you shall trade in the land.’”

³⁵ As they emptied their sacks, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack. And when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid. ³⁶ And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has come against me.” ³⁷ Then Reuben said to his father, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.” ³⁸ But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If harm should happen to him on the journey that you are to make, you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.” (Genesis 42:1-38)

INTRODUCTION

Your sinful past will eventually catch up with you. The assured reckoning for your sin is set forth in a memorable phrase from Numbers 32:23 – “be sure your sin will find you out.” It is interesting to hear how this phrase is rendered in other translations:

• “be sure your sin will catch up with you” (CSB)[1];
• “know that your sins track you down” (The Peshitta Holy Bible Translated)[2];
• “know ye, that your sin shall overtake you” (DRA)[3];
• “Be certain of this, that your sin will catch up to you!” (ISV)[4]

This concept of your sin tracking you down, catching up to/with you, finding you and overtaking you, is rich in meaning. Sinful human beings like the idea of getting separation between themselves and their sins, but unless the Lord does the separating, the attempt to get separation is unsuccessful. You may push your sins off to the corner, but they have a way of finding you again.

Even so, the outcome is uncertain. If the Lord intends to judge you for your transgressions, then you shall be overtaken and condemned. But there is another possibility: if the Lord intends to draw you into repentance, then your sin will track you all the way down to the foot of the cross, where you discover the Savior who delivers you from your sins. But either way, the sinner’s experience of being tracked down is frightening, unnerving, and destabilizing. The wound comes before the cure.

These comments help to frame the events of Genesis 42. By this time, over twenty years have passed since Joseph’s ten brothers sold him into slavery, which we learned about in Genesis 37. During those twenty-plus years, the many events described in Genesis 38-41 had taken place. Now coming to Genesis 42, Joseph is the ruler of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. As we saw at the end of Genesis 41, the promised seven years of severe famine began in earnest, and Joseph is administrating the sale of grain to both Egyptians and non-Egyptians. As it happens, the famine was also taking place in the land of Canaan (Genesis 42:5), where Jacob lived with his sons and their families. News had spread to Canaan that there was grain in Egypt, and this news reached the ears of Jacob. The result is that Jacob’s sons had an appointment down in Egypt. It was only supposed to be about the grain. But they got much more than they bargained for: they were being tracked down.

Now let’s walk through the passage.

JACOB SENDS HIS SONS TO EGYPT (v. 1-5)

First, Jacob sends his sons to Egypt (v. 1-5) in order to get help where help is to be found.

Jacob’s family, living in Canaan, was facing famine (v. 5) and the threat hunger (v. 2). Somehow Jacob learned that grain was able to be purchased in Egypt (v. 1). We know from other passages that Jacob is about 130 years old at this point, and his ten oldest sons are in their early to mid 40s. The old man says to his sons who are still in the prime years of their manhood: “Why do you look at one another?” (v. 1) They don’t know quite what to do with themselves, but now Jacob has news for his sons (v. 2) that should prompt them to stop sitting around and start moving with a clear goal in mind. There is no other way for the men up in Canaan to benefit from the grain down in Egypt except by packing their bags, loading their donkeys, and going to get it. The task is clear: “Go down and buy grain for us there” (v. 2). The goal is clear: “that we may live and not die” (v. 2) The team is clear: “So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt.” (v. 3) Notice that the phrase “ten of Joseph’s brothers” is used instead of ‘ten of Jacob’s sons’. The text is emphasizing the relationship between Joseph and his brothers – a relationship that is broken but is about to start getting worked on!

Jacob refused to send Benjamin, his youngest son, on the trip. Benjamin and Joseph were full brothers, having not only the same father but also the same mother, Rachel. All of Joseph’s other brothers were half-brothers, having the same father but different mothers. Joseph was fond of his beloved Rachel’s younger son Benjamin in much the same way that he was fond of his beloved Rachel’s older son Joseph. The reason that Jacob kept Benjamin home with him is because “he feared that harm might happen to him” (v. 4).

And so, “the sons of Israel” (v. 5) – Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, and Zebulun – made the trip to Egypt and were ready to purchase grain.

JOSEPH’S BROTHERS RUN INTO TROUBLE DOWN IN EGYPT (v. 6-25)

Second, Joseph’s ten brothers run into trouble down in Egypt (v. 6-25). Of course, they run into trouble down in Egypt precisely because they run into Joseph down in Egypt, though they never recognize him and never realize that he is calling the shots. They were going to Egypt only to obtain grain, but the Lord had them going to Egypt to discover unimaginable grace – but the road to discovering this grace would bring them face to face with their past sins. They were being tracked down!

Prophecy Fulfilled!

Looking at verse 6, we are reminded that Joseph is the governor of Egypt and that he is the administrator of the sale of grain. As Joseph’s brothers appear before the governor and administrator, they pay him the respect that a high official deserves: “And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground.” (v. 6) Although Joseph’s brothers do not know it at the time, they are actually bowing down before Joseph in fulfillment of Joseph’s first prophetic dream, the one recorded way back in Genesis 37 when the seventeen-year-old Joseph said to his brothers, who at that time ranged from late teens to mid-twenties:

“Hear this dream that I have dreamed: “Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.”” (Genesis 37:6-7)

Now twenty plus years later, the prophecy is fulfilled in the land of Egypt. While “Joseph recognized his brothers” (Genesis 42:8) and “remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them” (v. 9), Joseph’s brothers didn’t realize the significance of this moment when they bowed down before the governor of the land. It is also worth pointing out another aspect to the prophetic dream: the reference to sheaves in the dream, and their sheaves gathering around his sheaf and bowing down to his sheaf, highlights the fact that he had outperformed them in the matter of grain: as the ruler of Egypt, he had stored up an abundance of grain for this multi-year famine, whereas Joseph’s brothers were empty-handed and in a position where they needed to acquire grain from him.

We must bow low before the inscrutable wisdom of divine providence, that God orchestrated the fulfillment of the dream in such a way that Joseph’s brothers didn’t recognize it as such at the time, whereas Joseph did. Joseph was seeing prophecy unfold before his very eyes. And if the first dream involving his brothers was being fulfilled, then he might have considered that the fulfillment of the second dream that involved not only these ten brothers but also another brother as well as his father and his father’s wife – he might have considered that the fulfillment of the second dream was right around the corner. This might well have inspired confidence in Joseph as he dealt with his brothers in a very deliberate and serious manner.

Joseph interrogates and examines his brothers

At this point we have to recognize that Joseph has a twofold advantage in his subsequent interactions with his brothers: first, he is ruler of the land and, as such, has legal authorization to pursue any course of action that he deems good or necessary, and has all the resources of the Egyptian empire at his disposal; and second, he recognizes his brothers – this is emphasized twice in v. 7-8 – but his brothers don’t recognize him. One may perhaps object to the course of action that Joseph pursues with his brothers, but it seems best to regard Joseph’s actions as the divinely orchestrated actions of a wise man who is pursuing the well-being of his family through a season of necessary testing before the whole truth is revealed. Remember: the Lord is with Joseph, and Joseph is full of wisdom, and the Lord has caused Joseph to flourish, circumstances notwithstanding, for twenty years running. Joseph’s actions in Genesis 42 and beyond are not the actions of a foolish and bitter man, but rather the actions of a wise and gracious man whose heart is ready to burst forth in joy over his family.

Even so, there is “a time to break down, and a time to build up”, “a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing”, “a time to tear, and a time to sew”, “a time to keep silence, and a time to speak”, “a time for war, and a time for peace” (Ecclesiastes 3:3, 5, 7, 8). In the same vein, we might say that there is a time to conceal and a time to reveal. Joseph has a remarkably good sense of how the present time may be best utilized to achieve the desired ends of reconciliation and reunion. Further, there is no doubt regarding Joseph’s tender and generous heart toward his brothers (as v. 24-25 make clear), but Joseph first plays the part of suspicious interrogator in order to test whether his brothers have become better men than they were when they betrayed him twenty years earlier. Moreover, it is evident that God is working through Joseph’s actions in order to bring conviction upon Joseph’s brothers for their past sins. The wound comes before the cure; the break comes before the healing; the pain comes before the mending; the distress comes before the saving. And so, Joseph speaks roughly to them (v. 7) before he comforts them, as he will do in Genesis 45:4-15.

For now, Joseph “treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them (v. 7). He asked them in an unfriendly tone: “Where do you come from?” (v. 7) They answered the question accurately enough: “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.” (v. 7) Next, Joseph charged them with being spies: “You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land.” (v. 9) Joseph is throwing them off balance and accusing them of being less than honest men, less than honorable men. Joseph knows that they are not honorable men, at least with respect to their horrific crime twenty years earlier, when they were cruel and treacherous. Even so, the brothers respond by professing their innocence: “No, my lord, your servants have come to buy food. We are all sons of one man. We are honest men. Your servants have never been spies.” (v. 10-11) It may well be true that these brothers had by now become mostly honest men. But their claim to be “honest men” is striking with Genesis 37 in the background, for we know that in a profound sense they are not honest men, at least with respect to their covering up their misdeed and misleading their father into thinking that his beloved son Joseph had died. They had perpetuated this lie for twenty plus years and still counting – not exactly the sort of conduct that befits honest men.

The conversation continues and Joseph insists that his brothers are spies who “have come to see” and make a report about “the nakedness of the land” (v. 12). This prompts the brothers to reveal more information as they continue to profess their innocence: “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no more.” (v. 13) Ponder their words. The opening statement that they “are twelve brothers, the sons of one man” is the clear and honest truth. But the final statement that one of the brothers “is no more” is obviously false, for that one is with them in the room participating in this conversation. Of course, they don’t know that Joseph is there, but their statement is still a curious one. They actually don’t know that “one is no more”. I grant that the statement “one is no more” could carry the connotation of one is functionally absent and as good as dead as far as we are concerned. Jacob will speak this way about Simeon in verse 36. But against the background of Genesis 37, and in light of Joseph’s incognito presence in Genesis 42, their statement that “one is no more” is suspicious. They are obviously unprepared to speak the whole truth – they are not ready to say something like, ‘and one we sold into slavery and his present whereabouts are unknown but we presume that he has died’.

Joseph’s brothers have perpetuated a false narrative for decades

In reality, the lie is a big part of the brothers’ problem: they have been asserting that “one is no more” for twenty plus years. The false narrative that Joseph had died at the teeth of a fierce animal has been the operative narrative for two decades (see Genesis 37:26-35). This is their story. This is the story that they led their father to believe. This is the story that they want to separate them from their grave sins. This is the story that makes them presentable to their father. And yet it is patently false. Put yourself in Joseph’s shoes as he hears them say, “and one is no more” (v. 13). Ha! You have no idea what is in store for you fellas!

Joseph is resolved to test his brothers

In the meantime, Joseph decides to test the brothers’ character in reference to the middle part of their statement that “the youngest is this day with our father”. Young Benjamin’s presence with his father is the point at which the brothers will be tested. The first part of the chapter tells us that “Jacob did not send Benjamin…, for he feared that harm might happen to him.” (v. 4) In the last part of the chapter, Jacob says, “My son [Benjamin] shall not go down with you” (v. 38). And here in the middle part of the chapter, Joseph makes Benjamin the issue. So you have a young brother back home, do you? Look at verses 14-16:

“But Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you. You are spies. By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.”” (v. 14-16)

Notice that Joseph is seeking to test his brothers (v. 15) and their words (v. 16), specifically their words about having a young brother who is back home with their father. You say you have a young brother back home with your father – then prove it by bringing him here! So on the surface, the issue is whether Joseph’s brothers are honest men, “whether there is truth in [them]” (v. 16). But there is certainly more going on beneath the surface. Joseph knows who these men are. He knows that they are the sons of one man. He knows that they are from the land of Canaan. He knows that they have unwittingly just fulfilled prophecy by bowing down before him. He knows that they have a younger brother back home with their father and, moreover, he knows that the younger brother back home is his full brother of whom his father is very fond.[1] So the real test, which will only become apparent in Chapters 43-44, is whether they will treat their father’s beloved son Benjamin better than they treated their father’s beloved son Joseph. Joseph makes Benjamin the issue. When they were young and immature men, they resented their father’s favorite son Joseph. They mistakenly think that Joseph “is no more”. So Joseph decides to examine their brothers on a related matter: Have they learned to hold their father’s new favorite son Benjamin in high regard? Have they grown up? Have they learned to respect their father? Have they learned to fear the Lord, live in truth, and walk in love? Those are the deeper issues. The brothers are about to be tested at a far deeper level than they realize, although they are just about to realize that something much deeper is going on. In any case, Joseph wants Benjamin – the son of his father’s right hand, the son of his father’s strength, the son of his father’s special love, his full flesh and blood brother – Joseph wants Benjamin with him in Egypt, and Joseph leverages his power to incentivize it.

Initially, Joseph’s plan involved keeping nine brothers in Egypt and sending one to fetch the young brother from Canaan. But after putting the ten brothers “in custody for three days” (v. 17), Joseph decided upon a softer approach: send nine brothers back to Canaan to fetch the young brother, and keep one brother in custody in Egypt. Joseph explains the plan: “Do this and you will live, for I fear God” (v. 18). We know that Joseph’s statement is not merely a bit of formal polite religious political talk. The entirety of Joseph’s life in Egypt testifies to the reality that he really does fear God. Joseph fears God and is intent on pursuing God’s agenda. Joseph continues:

“if you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody, and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households, and bring your youngest brother to me. So your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” (v. 19-20)

The next words are: “And they did so” (v. 20), which means that the brothers acted in accordance with Joseph’s plan.

Tracked Down!

But as I mentioned earlier, the Lord is working through Joseph’s actions in order to bring conviction upon Joseph’s brothers. There they are, standing in the presence of Joseph, whom they do not recognize and whom they assume is an Egyptian who cannot understand their language (for they had been communicating with Joseph through an interpreter, as verse 23 says), and in the presence of Joseph incognito, they confess their sin.

“Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” And Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.”” (v. 21-22)

You see, at one level Joseph is testing the veracity of their words. At a deeper level, Joseph is testing whether these treacherous rascals have become a better band of brothers. But at an even deeper level, the Lord is calling these men to account for their sins. It is as they say: “In truth [they] are guilty concerning [Joseph]”, and “now there comes a reckoning for his blood.” Joseph understands what they have just said, and he is overcome with emotion, and has to turn away in order to weep. When he regains his composure, he returns to them and does two specific things – the first action is visible, the second action is hidden.

Simeon is taken

The visible action is that “he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes” (v. 24). One commentator plausibly suggests that Joseph took Jacob’s second-born son Simeon instead of Jacob’s firstborn Reuben because Joseph had just learned that Reuben hadn’t been part of the conspiracy to sell him.[5] But regardless, two decades earlier they had taken Joseph and thrown Joseph into a pit, before selling him off. Now a different brother is taken and bound in their sight: a tangible reminder of their earlier sin. You reap what you sow. Distress comes upon those who cause distress. When you sow to the flesh, you reap in due kind. All that is true, of course, but the wonderful reality here, unbeknownst to the brothers, is that the Lord is seeking their good. Joseph, the blessed and not embittered one, is also seeking their good, as becomes evident in the next verse.

Joseph is generous

The hidden or secret action is that Joseph “gave orders” (v. 25) to put the cost of all the grain that the brothers purchased ‘on the house’: the brothers got their fill of grain, but “every man’s money” (v. 25) was returned to his sack, thus rendering all the grain a free gift from Joseph to his brothers. Moreover, on top of the free gift of grain, Joseph “[gave] them provisions for the journey” (v. 25). How should you treat those who have betrayed you and mistreated you? Jesus said: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” (Luke 6:27-28) Here Joseph extends generosity and kindness to the brothers who had betrayed him.

JOSEPH’S BROTHERS RETURN HOME (v. 26-38)

Finally, Joseph’s brothers return home to their father (v. 26-38). At one point during the return trip, one of the brothers “opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his money in the mouth of his sack.” (v. 27) Upon reporting this to his brothers, “their hearts failed them, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”” (v. 28) This is an understandable response: if the money that you think you owed to a foreign government is found in your possession, while one of your brothers is being held captive by that foreign government, you are apt to think dark and fearful thoughts about what might happen to you all if the matter is discovered, because you look guilty. But here again, it is their prior guilt over their brother that is the real issue. They are not guiltyconcerning the money in their sacks, but they are guilty concerning their brother! And so now they are being stretched and destabilized, because they cannot have rest until their prior guilt is brought out into the open and grace is poured out upon it. Until then, they are fearful men who are carrying guilt and who are afraid of what might happen next. It is through this stretching, destabilizing, and frightening process that they will discover the surprising grace of God.

In due course they returned home and told their father “all that had happened to them” (v. 29). In verses 30-34 the brothers recount their unsettling experience down in Egypt, which included the explanation as to why one of the brothers hadn’t returned with them. Then the brothers “emptied their sacks” and when they did so, they discovered that “every man’s bundle of money was in his sack” (v. 35). Jacob and his sons alike reacted with fear to this realization (v. 35). With this fear coloring their vision, and with the unpleasant knowledge that Simeon was held captive down in Egypt, and with the realization that there would be a need to return to Egypt for more grain but that they couldn’t return to Egypt without Benjamin, Jacob speaks these sobering words in verse 36:

“And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has come against me.”” (v. 36)

Jacob’s understanding is that Joseph is dead, and that Simeon is as good as dead, and that if others have their way, Benjamin is the next in line for tragedy. It is very interesting that Jacob suggests that his sons are responsible for the loss of Joseph and Simeon: “You have bereaved me of my children”. Jacob speaks better than he knows, as the brothers really do bear moral responsibility for these troubles. Although Jacob says “All this has come against me”, little does he know that all of these things are actually happening for his good, to get his family relocated and well provided for, in Egypt. “All this has come against me” is the voice of unbelief that is evaluating circumstances by their apparent short-term impact. ‘All this will work together for my ultimate good, though I know not how’ is the voice of faith that is trusting God’s promise to be faithful to us to the very end.

Reuben the guarantor of Benjamin’s safety?

Recognizing the need to be able to return to Egypt for more grain, Reuben steps up to guarantee Benjamin’s safety: “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.” While we can appreciate Reuben’s effort to take responsibility, his approach misses the mark. Objectively speaking, offering as payment the lives of your two sons in the event of mission failure, isn’t an honorable approach. It is one thing to offer one’s own life as a sacrifice, but since when do we have the freedom to offer our sons as a sacrifice? If Reuben takes responsibility for Benjamin but fails to bring him back to Jacob, this means that Benjamin is either dead or as good as dead, and one fails to see how the killing of two of Jacob’s grandsons would compensate for the loss of Benjamin.

In addition to the wrongheadedness of offering his sons in sacrifice, we cannot help but notice the irony of Reuben’s proposal: back in Genesis 37 he had intended to rescue Joseph and “restore him to his father” (Genesis 37:22), but he had failed. Can we trust him to do any better with Benjamin? I do not question Reuben’s good intentions – and perhaps he wants to redeem himself over his prior failure to keep Joseph safe – but it is far from obvious that he is the right man for the job.

Jacob is resolved to keep Benjamin with him

As we conclude the chapter, Jacob is resolved that Benjamin will not go down to Egypt:

“My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If harm should happen to him on the journey that you are to make, you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.” (v. 38)

Jacob had made a similar statement after he had come to believe that Joseph had died: “I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” (Genesis 37:35) At that time, Jacob envisioned a future only of grief, and he had indeed carried that grief of losing Joseph for the past two decades. And now at the end of Genesis 42, Jacob feels that the loss of Benjamin would only aggravate and multiply his sorrow.

I imagine that the statement that Benjamin “is the only one left” may have pained the brothers. We might charitably infer that Jacob meant “he is the only one left” of Rachel, but he didn’t say that. In fact, Jacob had once favored Joseph above his other brothers, and now Jacob favored Benjamin above his other brothers. It was as if Benjamin was Jacob’s son, his only son, the son whom he loved. And sooner or later God comes to test the father’s faith: offer up your son and entrust him to the Lord. In Abraham’s case, it meant taking Isaac up to Mount Moriah. In Jacob’s case, it would mean sending Benjamin down to Egypt with his brothers – as we shall see next week.

IMPORTANT APPLICATION

Will you trust the Lord with your sins and sorrows?

As we come to a close, I invite you to see the Lord God as the One who brings His people to the uneasy and painful contemplation of their own failings, so that He can show them His undeserved kindness in the end. Here’s the reality in Genesis 42: Joseph is well, but his family is not well. Do you see this? Joseph’s spiritual and overall wellness has been steadily unpacked for us in Genesis 39-41, and the testimony at the end of Genesis 41 is that God had taken away the sting of Joseph’s hardship and God had made Joseph fruitful in the land of his affliction. As we come into Genesis 42, Joseph is well. Although Joseph loves the family from whom he is alienated, he does not need them. Joseph is anchored in grace and stands tall in the stature of good character. All the need is found in Jacob’s family back in Canaan.

The lack of grain is their presenting problem, but it is far from their deepest problem. Jacob is carrying grief and the fear of losing Benjamin: grief and fear and the thought that so much is against him. And Jacob’s ten oldest sons are carrying guilt and the fear of punishment. How is the Lord going to resolve their deep and profound needs? Regarding Jacob, he is going to have to relinquish his dear son Benjamin as the pathway to receiving back Joseph, as it were, from death. Regarding Joseph’s brothers, they are being brought face to face with their sin – their sin is tracking them down, and yet really it is the God of all grace who is tracking them down, to show them lovingkindness and mercy. What about you?

Can you believe that there is forgiveness for that misdeed?

Can you believe that there is healing for that grief?

Can you believe that though you are afraid, the Lord has planned good for you?

Can you believe that though you feel like everything is against you, the very opposite is true?

Tend your relationship with the Lord

Why is Joseph incognito to Joseph’s brothers in this chapter? Probably for many reasons, carefully arranged by the Lord. But it would seem that one very prominent reason is that they really don’t need to negotiate their relationship with Joseph at the moment. What they really need to do – and what you really need to do – is to tend your relationship with the Lord. Whence cometh the distress upon those who cause distress? Whence cometh the reckoning for his blood? Whence cometh the trembling thought, “What is this that God has done to us?” Joseph himself, unrecognized by his brothers, points his brothers upward: “Do this and you will live, for I fear God.” Yes, I fear God, but do you? Joseph’s brothers need to come clean before the Lord. Jacob needs to trust God with his fear. All of them need to learn that the living God weaves together a plan of surprising grace for His undeserving people.

Live within the true narrative of God’s grace

This is the true narrative for God’s undeserving but redeemed people – that God weaves together a plan of surprising grace for our good. Will you live and move within that true narrative, entrusting yourself to a God treats you far better than you deserve? Or will you live in the false narrative – the false narrative that says “We are honest men”, the false narrative that says “one is no more”, the false narrative that says “All this has come against me”, the false narrative that claims “I will bring him back to you” – otherwise articulated as ‘we’ve got this!’ Do we now?

No, we are not the ones who will bring anyone back: we are not the protectors and deliverers that we think we are. No, all this has not come against us: every last detail is working together for our good (Romans 8:28). No, in our sinfulness we are not honest men: even when we get some of the facts right, we construct a narrative that makes us look better than we actually are. We are sinful men, and we need someone to put grain and provision into our sacks at no cost to us – and what I mean is that we need someone to put grace and salvation into our lives at no cost to us. And who might do that for us? The one who we reckoned is no more – that one. The one we rejected, betrayed, and sold. I speak not of Joseph, but of Christ. He died because of our sins, bearing the punishment for us, and then He came back to life, and He has nothing but free grace stored up for all the overwhelmed sinners and failures who come stumbling to him for help.

Relinquish your issues to the Lord

Genesis 42 gives us a beautiful glimpse of how the God of heaven “[convinces] us of our sin and misery”[6], and then He tracks us all the way down to the foot of the cross. Whether your issue today is the grief, fear, and frustration that characterized Jacob, or the guilt and fear of punishment that characterized Jacob’s sons, will you relinquish your issues to the Lord? Will you see His big heart and big plan and big grace for Jacob and Reuben and Simeon and you? Will you offer up your troubled heart to the Lord, and entrust yourself to His mercy and grace? I invite you to take a few minutes to respond to the Lord in prayer, and afterward stand with us to worship the Lord in song. 

ENDNOTES

[1] The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved. Accessed online at Bible Gateway.

[2] The Peshitta Holy Bible Translated. Translated by Glenn David Bauscher. Glenn David Bauscher. Lulu Publishing. Copyright © 2018 Lulu Publishing. 3rd edition Copyright © 2019. Accessed online at Bible Hub.

[3] Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition. Public domain. Accessed online at Bible Gateway.

[4] International Standard Version. Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC. Accessed online at Bible Gateway.

[5] Andrew E. Steinmann, Genesis, p. 399 (full bibliographic information below).

[6] I borrow this language from the Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question and Answer 31. Question: “What is effectual calling?” Answer: “Effectual calling is the work of God’s Spirit, whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ and renewing our wills, he persuades and enables us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel.”

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Book of Genesis (Ariel’s Bible Commentary). Fourth Edition. San Antonio: Ariel Ministries, 2020.

Andrew E. Steinmann, Genesis: An Introduction and Commentary (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, Volume I). Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2019.