Genesis 43 – 45 and One for the Money

Genesis 43 – 45

The famine was terrible and “continued to ravage the land of Canaan.” Jacob’s sons had brought back a bunch of food from Egypt, but eventually it ran out.

I’ve spoken many times about the need to be prepared in case something disrupts this country’s food or food delivery system. Well, this famine would last for SEVEN YEARS – at this point (see Gen 45:6) it had only been going on for two years. Jacob was not prepared and insisted his sons go to Egypt and buy more food. Money was not a problem, but as Judah pointed out, they had to take Benjamin with them. They would not go unless Benjamin went with them.

They weren’t just worried about themselves, but about their little ones. Judah offers to bear the blame if something happens to Benjamin. Judah even sounded a little sarcastic saying, “If we hadn’t wasted all this time, we could have gone and returned twice by now.” Ever notice how testy people get when they are worried about their survival?

Jacob finally consents and the brothers take Benjamin with them and present themselves to Joseph. He orders a big feast in his palace and, once again, Joseph is overcome by emotion and goes into his private room where he breaks down and weeps.

We see a little hint of what might happen in a description of where people sat during this feast: Egyptians sat by themselves because “Egyptians despise Hebrews (still true, isn’t it?) and refuse to eat with them, Joseph sat at his own table, while his brothers sat together by themselves.

You’d think that Joseph’s brothers would have been suspicious when they noticed that he seated them in order according to age and gave Benjamin five times as much food as the others.

Joseph is not done giving his brothers a hard time. Not only did he put each man’s money back into their sacks, but he had his servant put his personal silver cup at the top of Benjamin’s sack along with the money. He let them be on their way and then ordered his men to chase them down. Here Judah, who is in the direct line of Christ, eloquently offers himself as a substitute for Benjamin. “For how can I return to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear the anguish this would cause my father.”

Joseph, once again overcome by emotion, sends everyone away except his brothers and tells them who he is. Joseph, who knew the Lord was with him, despite the way things appeared, doesn’t show animosity toward his brothers, but tries to put them at ease: “But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives.”

If you were one of those brothers, wouldn’t you have been scared? After all, Joseph, who God has made master over all the land of Egypt, could have put all of them to death or made them slaves. Pharoah also invites Jacob’s family to move to Egypt, saying, “Don’t worry about your personal belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.”

Imagine how Jacob felt when he heard the news that Joseph was alive.

Tomorrow, it’s Genesis 46 – 47.

One for the Money

Yep, I couldn’t wait until Saturday and went to AMC to see One for the Money. What a great movie! And the theater was crowded, including Don and Sandy Steigerwald. I hope the crowds continue to come. I know I’ll be there again tomorrow and am so looking forward to it. I hope they have already started making the movie for the second Stephanie Plum book, Two for the Dough.