Contributor: Adewale Abiona

INTRODUCTION
In last week’s study we understood through Joseph’s experience that hope differed is not a denial because God is faithful to His promises. Has he said something concerning you, wait on Him, for He will surely bring it to pass.
We also saw the similarity in Joseph’s life as compared to that of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This means that as believers, we are to live our life after Christ’s pattern and for His glory. We were encouraged to have the right attitude in tricky situations just as Joesph showed and a life of submission to the will of the Father as did by Christ. In today’s lesson, we will look more at Joseph’ life and how he handled meeting his brothers that sold him to slavery.

Genesis 42: 1-4
Jacob sent all Joseph’s half-brothers to Egypt to get food, but his full brother Benjamin was held back. because he feared something might happen to him just as the case of Joseph.
God arranged it for Joseph to interpret pharaohs dream which led to his promotion in Egypt as the second in command to Pharaoh.

The seven years of famine had started and Joseph’s family in Canaan were not spared, they also ran out of food and now they needed to go to Egypt. Of course they didn’t know what had become of Joseph, but hearing Egypt would have reminded them of their terrible deed to Joseph. The secret they have kept all these years will come flashing down their mind. They sold their father’s beloved son and their brother as slave for twenty pieces of silver to the Midianites who took him to Egypt. Gen. 37:26-28.
The word Egypt in their ears must have sounded like the word rope in the house of a man who hanged himself. They never talked about it, but it never left them. Any mention of Joseph or Egypt brought back the guilt, and they needed to be set free from the power of their terrible secret.
Reflection: Romans 8:1-2 - Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death

Jacob said to his sons why do you look at one another and he said indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt go down to that place and buy for us there that we may live and not die. So, Joseph’s 10 brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt.

Jacob believed that Joseph was dead and only one of the remaining 11children was the son of his beloved and deceased wife Rachel, which he felt that he had to protect. So, he did not allow Benjamin to follow them. Little did he know that his presumed dead son was the only reason that there was grain in Egypt.

God knew exactly what He was doing. Famine is not a good thing, but God used it. God can and does use material needs including other things that are not good in themselves to bring his plan and purpose to pass.
God uses all these happenings to rescue a family from famine and to take them to a place where they could grow from a large family to a nation without being corrupted by other societies or cultures around them.

The Encounter (Verses 5-8) - Joseph and His Ten Half-Brothers.
At this stage, many of us will have heart bit rate that is higher than normal. We can see a bit of it reflected in the way he spoke to them. It is normal to feel resentment towards those who have hurt us (Ephesians 4:26 When angry, do not sin; do not ever let your wrath (your exasperation, your fury or indignation) last until the sun goes down.)
Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. Here we see Joseph as another picture that points to Jesus Christ. Jesus saw who His people were long before His people saw who He was. You could say that Jesus recognizes you and He still loves you, but Jesus recognized you long before you ever recognized Him just another one of the many ways that Joseph points to Jesus Christ

The Test Verse 9-17
Joseph was governor over the land, and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. His brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the Earth when they came and saw this governor of Egypt, they didn’t know to be their brother as their lives literally depended on the kindness, the generosity of this Egyptian official. If he was not willing to sell them grain, they wouldn’t have anything to eat, therefore they showed great respect by bowing to this Egyptian official (Joseph), but they didn’t know it was him. Joseph remembered the dream that he had had some years before that his brothers would in fact bow down to him that was back in Genesis chapter 37. Joseph dreams weren’t his aspirations but a revelation from God which his brothers plotted against. This shows that man cannot defeat God’s revelation or stop God’s work from happening, but instead by sending Joseph to Egypt, they offered the way by which those dreams would be fulfilled. Romans 8:28 - And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

Reflection: There’s no excuse for a man’s sin, and sin could never be justified by saying God will use it anyway. No, but it means that God ‘s wisdom and goodness are greater than man’s evil. Psalm 76:10 - even the wicked actions and anger of humanity ultimately serve God's purposes and glory.

Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted as a stranger to them and spoke roughly to them he said where do you come from and they said from the land of Canaan to buy food. Though Joseph treated them roughly, I believe that Joseph was guided by the Holy Spirit, this way he can fully evaluate them to know if they were still the same after so many years. Remember what was said of Joseph by pharaoh in the Egyptian officials in Gen 41:38 they said, “Where can we find anyone else like this one, for he has the Spirit of God in him!”

Question: Was Joseph paying them back?
This wasn’t revenge on Joseph’s part, God guided his actions and used those actions to develop and reveal greater character in his brothers, God planned it this way, not only to save them from famine, but also to rightly restore their relationship with Joseph. There were some heart changes that needed to happen and that needed to be displayed from the brothers and all this elaborate scheme that Joseph will enact I believe was prompted by the Spirit of God to both work these changes and to display these changes in his brothers.

He accused them of being spies and to prove to him that they were not, they told their family’s story and mentioned their youngest brother that Joseph longed to know about his welfare but couldn’t ask because he was still hiding his identity. By doing this, they gave him his next move. He demanded to see their youngest brother. The very one that their father could not let out of his sight.

Compassion Leading to Repentance (Verses 18-25).

After 3 days imprisonment, Joseph came to them and said “I am a man who respects God. If you are as honest as you say you are, then I will keep just one of your brothers here in confinement while the rest of you carry grain home for your starving families”. After hearing this word, their sin came flooding their memory and they started to challenge themselves of their evil deed and said maybe this is why God has allowed them to be in this situation. And they knew not that Joseph understood them.
27-38 - Joseph sent 9 brothers on their way with provision and gave their money back by hiding it in their sacks, adding more trouble to their already heavy heart.

Joseph may have deliberately introduced affliction into the lives of his brothers, but God used it to bring repentance and restoration into the life of those brothers. Psalm 119:67 Sometimes, when people don’t see consequences of their foolishness, they may not realise that they are on the wrong path.
On their way back, one saw the money and shouted out to his brothers. Are we going to be accused of stealing again?
On getting home they narrated their ordeal to their father and as they were all emptying their sack of the grain and all realised that their money was hid in their sack. Yes, they were all worried about the money, but the fact that one of their brothers, Simeon was in prison is more concerning. All their focus was on how they will get their father to release Benjamin to go with them to Egypt in order to secure the release of Simeon.

Their father wasn’t going to have any of it. In vers 36, Jacob lamented “You have taken away my children! First, Joseph is gone, and now, Simeon! And now, you want to take Benjamin from me! Everything is against me!”
Although Ruben spoke firmly, he declared, "Father, if I do not return Benjamin to you, you may put my two sons to death." Trust me—I will bring him back!”
But Jacob replied, “I can’t let my son Benjamin go with you. For his brother is dead, and of Rachel’s sons, he alone is left. If he were to meet with disaster on your journey, I would die of grief! You will send my white hair and broken heart sorrowing down to the grave!”

Genesis 43: 1-6
And the famine was sore in the land. 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. In other to protect Benjamin, Simeon was abandoned in Egypt until such a time when all the grains had finished and are in need of more.
Question - If you were in Simeon’s shoes, what would you be thinking of?

With no other choice, after running out of food, Judah said to his father “The Egyptian warned us repeatedly, ‘You will not see my face again, unless Benjamin is with you!’ We’ll only go if you’ll let our brother come with us. If you insist, he stays here, we won’t go, for the man solemnly told us, ‘You will not see my face again, unless your brother is with you!’”
6-7 Jacob not willing to allow Benjamin asked why they said they had another brother and they replied saying “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?

Test of Character - Something is brewing.
Judah who suggested that Joseph be sold suddenly made promises that he will be a guarantor for Benjamin’ return. 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 our little ones. 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 for ever: for except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time.
Finally, the father conceded and allowed Benjamin to go. He told them to take gifts and double money for the earlier purchases and new order. Then he prayed that God would show them mercy before Joseph to send Simeon and Benjamin back with them.

Necessity drove Jacob to do what he didn’t want to do. As a Christian we do face situations where necessity demands that we do something that we probably didn’t plan or would normally not want to do. Jacob could have be praying all the while for God to end the famine, but it looks as though God didn’t hear the prayer, that God was silent because he didn’t want to send Benjamin to Egypt because of his fear.
Could this be the situation in our own life as a believer? God using unpleasant situations to guide us into His plan for our lives?

Reflection: Sometimes we withhold our Benjamin from God. Jacob in his mind thought not to release another child of his late beloved Rachael. Simeon should sort himself out in prison.

Mercy and Forgiveness (Verses 16-34)
Joseph must have known that they would eventually return despite not showing up for a while because he knew that the famine would last longer than the supply they had.
Just as their father prayed, when Joseph saw Benjamin, he was filled with joy and prepared a feast for his brothers. Simeon was brought from prison, and they were brought to his house.
You can see that for as long as they have skeletons in their cupboard, they found it difficult to understand why they should be treated kindly. So, they thought they were in trouble because of the money that was returned in their sacks on their first visit. This prompted them to quickly resolve it and talk with Joseph’s steward. They explained the issue surrounding the money and the steward replied in verse 23 “Relax,” he replied, “don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, must have been the one who put treasure in your bags. I have received your money; it’s all accounted for.”

Here we see their thirst to come clean, they would not want any more condemnation for themselves. Feeling happy that all is going well and according to the desire of their father and the prayer for them to return home with Simeon and Benjamin, there is yet another test of Joseph for them.
That could well be the case for believers, when you think everything is now moving in the right direction, suddenly there is another issue coming up.

At this point when Joseph came in and they presented the gifts; they had a good chat about their family and the welfare of their father.
Few things to note before and during the feasting:
• They had a good chat, one would think there was no more issue.
• They presented their gifts to Joseph.
• Joseph was moved to tears when he saw Benjamin and went into the chamber to compose himself.
• Joseph sat apart from his brothers
• The rest of the brothers sat at a separate table according to their age, oldest to the youngest. (They marvel at the order)
• The Egyptians dine with them sat at a separate table (It would have been utterly offensive for the Egyptians to eat at the same table with the Hebrews.)
• Benjamin had five times more food than the rest of the brothers.
• They feasted and drank their fill with Joseph until they all became drunk.

Genesis 44. Unity and Loyalty
After the feasting with Joseph, the narrative in Genesis 44 takes a dramatic turn. Joseph instructs his steward to secretly place his personal silver cup in Benjamin’s sack, along with the brothers’ grain. At dawn, as the brothers begin their journey home, they are pursued and accused of theft. When the cup is discovered in Benjamin’s possession, the brothers are devastated, fearing for his life and the wellbeing of their father. Judah again steps forward, passionately pleading with Joseph, offering himself as a substitute to protect Benjamin and spare their father any further sorrow.

This chapter highlights themes of justice, reconciliation, and the enduring bonds of family.
To summarise this chapter, we will look at few key moments especially how Judah became the one pointing out Christ life.
• The order in which their bag was searched.
• Collective actions of all the brothers - vs13
• They all returned and fell to the ground before Joseph.
• Judah and the rest were united in their trust that Benjamin couldn’t have done it, but a mistake had happened.
• They have forgiven their father’s ill treatment of them in favour of Joseph and Benjamin, which started hatred.
• Verse 18-34 Here Judah played the role of high priest.

Conclusion: We see 3 areas that Judah points us to Christ:
a. Jesus is the sacrificial servant, offering His life as a substitute. Judah was offering himself in place of Benjamin. Matthew 20:28 - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
b. Jesus is the one who pleads for His people as Judah interceded for Benjamin. Making an appeal on his behalf with which he broke Joseph’s defense in Genesis 45:1-9. They finally come together and realise that it was God all along.
c. Jesus is the one who develops and transforms the character of His people. Romans 8:29 - For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

As we meditate on Judah’s’ transformation, this is a clarion call for us as believers to open ourselves for God to perform His good work in us. God wants us to collaborate with him and trust Him by letting go of our “Benjamin”. Jesus has completed the work of salvation, which is His gift to us, but your sanctification, growth, in grace, tolerance, perseverance and forgiveness, are areas that God works in us and through us with our cooperation.