Joseph has been the subject of the last few chapters, and the scripture does not tell us much about Jacob and his other sons during this period. It is safe to assume, they have built their homes, and Joseph is a distant memory in their minds. Jacob probably never stopped mourning for his son. Meanwhile, as we saw in the last chapter, Joseph was appointed second in command in Egypt. He has risen in power. Let’s look at chapter 42 as God’s divine plan becomes apparent, and in that, we see more similarities between Joseph and one greater than him, Jesus.
When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” 2 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.”3 So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “Lest some calamity befall him.” 5 And the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who journeyed, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
There was an obvious problem, famine was severe, and there was no grain in the land of Cannan. But, no one was doing anything about it, and Jacob had to state the obvious. Many times, such circumstances arise in our family or church, and everyone knows the issue as well as a solution, yet no one is willing to take the first step. Perhaps, brothers were reluctant to go because of fear of running into Joseph. Jacob’s refusal not to send Benjamin suggests, he was suspicious about what happened to Joseph.
6 Now Joseph was governor over the land; and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the earth. 7 Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted as a stranger to them and spoke [a]roughly to them. Then he said to them, “Where do you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.”8 So Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. 9 Then Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the [b]nakedness of the land!”
A trip to Egypt was not an easy one. It probably took them 5-6 weeks, and as foreigners, you were not guaranteed a warm welcome. Here we see one of Joseph’s earlier dreams coming true. The ten brothers are bowing down to him. This is a picture of what is to come after the rapture. During the seven-year tribulation period, Jesus’s brothers, the Jewish nation will bow down to him. Joseph recognized them, but they did not know him because he was dressed as an Egyptians and, of course, talked like one. Joseph was aware of God’s plan for his family from a young age, and thus, he was not surprised when they appeared in front of him. Joseph did not reveal himself as he wanted to know the intent of their heart as well as well being of his father and Benjamin. He also treated them harshly to bring them to true repentance.
10 And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all one man’s sons; we are honest men; your servants are not spies.” 12 But he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.” 13 And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more.”
Were they truly honest man? Like brothers, we tend to believe we are good people. As we look around, we say I am not that bad, and I am good enough to get to heaven, but as we see in this story, God reveals to us out true sinful nature. They have repeated this lie so many times about Joseph; it is like second nature to them.
14 But Joseph said to them, “It is as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You are spies!’ 15 In this manner you shall be tested: By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of you, and let him bring your brother; and you shall be [c]kept in prison, that your words may be tested to see whether there is any truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!” 17 So he [d]put them all together in prison three days.
Joseph wants to make sure that Benjamin is ok. He was wondering if they could have done the same thing to Benjamin. They had already lied about Joseph being dead. Thus, Joseph wanted to verify the rest of their account, and of course, he wanted to see Benjamin. Bible tells us one year is like a thousand years in the sight of God. Here, we see brothers are in prison for three days, much like Jews are in the third year of their captivity, starting with their exile from Israel by Romans.
18 Then Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God: 19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses. 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, “We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us.” 22 And Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us.” 23 But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter. 24 And he turned himself away from them and wept. Then he returned to them again and talked with them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.
Joseph used the word “Elohim” in verse 18, which should have surprised the brothers. Only Hebrews called God “Elohim.” Not wanting to cause any grief or worry to his father, Joseph now said only one of them need to stay back. Joseph was sure they would come back because he knew famine was severe. By this time, their guilty conscience is eating away at them, and all in one accord admitted their guilt without realizing Joseph could understand them. As Pilate was washing his hands of the blood of Jesus, Jews cried out, “let his blood be upon us,” and like these brothers one day, Jews will realize their guilt and what they have done. It is noteworthy that, although there are many sins recorded in the book of Genesis, both of God’s people and others, this is the first time in which there is a confession of guilt. The ten brothers were in anguish, they had traveled a long way from home, they were held in prison for three days, and now they were under suspicion in a foreign land. They finally realized they were receiving what they truly deserved for how they dealt with Joseph. Here we also learn an essential point; sin requires blood. We can only be forgiven by the blood, and thus Jesus shed his blood for us so we may have eternal life. As Jesus entered Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday, he wept. Here in Verse 24, we see first of six times; Joseph wept for his brothers.
25 Then Joseph gave a command to fill their sacks with grain, to restore every man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. Thus he did for them. 26 So they loaded their donkeys with the grain and departed from there. 27 But as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the encampment, he saw his money; and there it was, in the mouth of his sack. 28 So he said to his brothers, “My money has been restored, and there it is, in my sack!” Then their hearts [e]failed them and they were afraid, saying to one another, “What is this that God has done to us?”
Now realizing Reuben had at least tried to stop them, and Simeon was the responsible party for what transpired, Joseph took Simeon as the one to stay back in captivity. Perhaps he needed the chains and correction the most out of all the brothers, especially looking back at what took place in chapter 34. Joseph ordered to fill their sacks and told the servants to restore the money as well. Joseph did not accept their money. In like manner, we can not purchase our salvation. It is all about GRACE. They all deserved punishment from Joseph; instead, he not only grants them freedom but also provides food free of charge. Somewhere along the way, they opened their sacks and found the money. This was a cause of much distress, knowing they had to go back to Egypt and answer for this. Likewise, God has blessed Jews with wealth, and it has become a source of jealousy, and throughout history, they have been targeted because of their wealth.
29 Then they went to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying: 30 “The man who is lord of the land spoke [f]roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. 31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. 32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan.’ 33 Then the man, the lord of the country, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for the famine of your households, and be gone. 34 And bring your youngest brother to me; so I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. I will grant your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’ ” 35 Then it happened as they emptied their sacks, that surprisingly each man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. 36 And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are against me.”37 Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “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 left alone. If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.”
The heart of Jacob and his sons must have stopped when they discovered not one piece of evidence but ten. Jacob was still the dominant authority in the family. None of his sons questioned his authority. When they told Jacob about the demand of the Egyptian office, he was not pleased, and he was none to please to hear that Benjamin would need to go to Egypt. They all realized, they would all be subject to a charge of theft on their return to Egypt. We could also conclude, there was no love lost for Simeon as they were in no hurry to go back to Egypt to get him. I want to draw your attention to verse 36, Jacob accuses his nine sons of having been responsible for the loss of Joseph and now Simeon.
Jacob was afraid of losing his whole family and worried about what would happen to God’s promise for his family. I want you to notice; it was Jacob who declares “everything is against me,” not Israel, which means governed by God. So many times, our reaction to the crisis is so much like Jacobs, but we need to trust God. All Jacob needed to do was hang in there for a couple of more chapters, and everything will work out gloriously. Would this have been the reaction of Joseph? I don’t think so. He truly is an example of Romans 8:28, “All things work together for good to those who love God.” He trusted God in all his circumstances, and God watched over him. We don’t have to be like our parents in everything. When Jacob thought everything was falling apart, in reality, it was all working to reunite him with Joseph. Don’t ever feel, God has let things get out of hand, and there is no hope, He has a higher purpose related to our eternal life. How will you react to difficulties in your life? Trust God and let His plan unfold in your life. Amen
only savior jesus 