Genesis 42 - Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt

http://www.believetrust.com/bible/genesis-42-josephs-brothers-go-to-egypt/ 

FAMILY REUNION, JOSEPH AND BROTHERS / Sinai Peninsula

https://www.casualenglishbible.com/genesis-42/

Summary https://marksbiblejourney.blogspot.com/2019/10/genesis.html
"Jacob tells his sons to go to Egypt to buy grain because they will starve to death from the famine if they don't.  Ten of Joseph's brothers go to Egypt.  Benjamin stayed behind with Jacob.  Joseph recognizes his ten brothers when they come to buy grain, but they don't recognize him.  Joseph has nine of the brothers imprisoned claiming they are spies.  One of the brothers must go and get Benjamin to prove that they are not spies.  After three days of being imprisoned, Joseph lightens up on them, and he allows all but one of the brothers to take grain back home to their family.  Still yet, they must bring back Benjamin to get the other brother, Simeon, out of prison.  The brothers return to Jacob in the land of Canaan.  Jacob doesn't want Benjamin to go to Egypt in fear that something will happen to him like it did to Joseph.  They wait, eat all the grain, and the whole family is starving again.  They now have no choice but to return to Egypt for more grain."

Some key verses from the Amplified Bible (AMP) version..

• "He said, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy [some] grain for us, so that we may live and not die [of starvation].” So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s [younger] brother, with his brothers, for he said, “I am afraid that some harm or injury may come to him.” v. 2-4

• "Joseph’s [half] brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the ground. When Joseph saw his brothers he recognized them, but [hiding his identity] he treated them as strangers and spoke harshly to them." v.6-7

• "And they said to one another, “Truly we are guilty regarding our brother [Joseph], because we saw the distress and anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us [to let him go], yet we would not listen [to his cry]; so this distress and anguish has come on us.” Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Now the accounting for his blood is required [of us for we are guilty of his death].” They did not know that Joseph understood [their conversation], because he spoke to them through an interpreter. He turned away from his brothers and [left the room and] wept; then he returned and talked with them, and took Simeon from them and bound him in front of them [to be kept as a hostage in Egypt]." v.21-24

• "Then Reuben spoke to his father, “You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring Benjamin back to you; put him in my care, and I will return him to you.” But Jacob said, “My son shall not go down [to Egypt] with you; for his brother is dead, and he alone is left [of Rachel’s children]. If any harm or accident should happen to him on the journey you are taking, then you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol (the place of the dead) in sorrow.” v. 37-38

My personal observations and reflections...

• FAMINE IN CANAAN. "So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands." (Genesis 41:53) The 7 years famine was severe and widespread, and Israel/Jacob's big family was also affected by it. To make sure that they will survive this, God has chosen Joseph and used his life for His great plans (Genesis 37 onwards). What if, nobody has prepared and everyone was caught surprised by the famine? That would have been terrible. But God was good and faithful, and through 'dreams', He allowed Joseph and all the people to see what will happen in the future.

* Study Guide Commentary from David Guzik:

"Jacob noticed a strange expression among the brothers when Egypt was mentioned, because the brothers knew it was likely Joseph was sold as a slave there. Their conscience made them feel terrible any time Egypt was mentioned.
i. “The father has noted the look of perplexity in his son’s faces”…literally, the phrase means, “to look questioningly one at the other.” (Leupold)
ii. “The word Egypt in their ears must have sounded like the word rope in the house of a man who has hanged himself.” (Barnhouse)
iii. Joseph’s brothers lived with a terrible secret for 20 years. They never talked about it but it never left them. Any mention of Joseph or Egypt brought back the guilt. They needed to be set free from the power of their terrible secret."

• TEN BROTHERS SENT TO EGYPT. I guess this is to maximize the long travel from Canaan to Egypt; they needed a lot of grain for the big family. Benjamin, the youngest son, who may be around 31 y/o that time, was not sent by Jacob for fear that "some harm or injury may come to him.” (v.4) Maybe it was also because Benjamin was the only brother of Joseph, and their mother was (deceased) Rachel, that's why Jacob treasured him so much.

• DRAMATIC REUNION. It's amazing how Joseph recognized his 10 brothers after 20+ years! Although they may have aged, it's recognizable by Joseph, and maybe it's also because of the way they dressed. Meanwhile, Joseph is unrecognizable to them because of the Egyptian influence and culture that Joseph adapted physically in accordance to his position as ruler/governor of Egypt.

The act of 'bowing down before Joseph with their faces to the ground' (v.6) was the fulfillment of Joseph's God-given dream when he was 17 y/o. Those dreams were (one of) the reason the brothers hated Joseph, but now we see the God's greater reason of it. The day came that, the brothers bowed down to Joseph because of the position God gave him, and because they needed grain/food to survive.

* Study Guide Commentary from David Guzik:

"i. When Joseph’s brothers plotted murder against him and sold him into slavery they did it with the specific intention to defeat his dreams (Genesis 37:19-20). Instead, by sending Joseph to Egypt, they provided the way the dreams would be fulfilled.
ii. The great and glorious truth of God’s providence is He can and does use the evil actions of man towards us to further His good plan. This never excuses man’s evil, but it means God’s wisdom and goodness are greater than man’s evil. Surely the wrath of man shall praise You (Psalm 76:10)."

Image: Joseph's brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the earth (Genesis 42:4-8)
 https://st-takla.org/bible/commentary/en/ot/matthew-henry/genesis/ch42.html

• JOSEPH SPOKE HARSHLY TO HIS BROTHERS THROUGH AN INTERPRETER. At this point, we wonder what could be going on inside Joseph's heart and mind. Surely, he was expecting this to happen, knowing that the famine was severe in all the land. How does it feel to finally see your family, brothers, who had betrayed and wronged you? It must have been hard, even for Joseph.

Joseph seems to act his role as the ruler of Egypt-- he continued hiding his identity to his brothers, and pretended he didn't know them. Joseph then falsely accused them of being "spies" and that they "have come [with a malicious purpose] to observe the undefended parts of our land.” (v.9) Was Joseph getting back at his brothers, giving them a taste of their own medicine for what they did to him before, or he was just simply teaching them a lesson (before he reveal his identity)? This is very overwhelming!

* Study Guide Commentary from David Guzik:

"Joseph did not play games with his bothers. Some commentators believe that if it were up to Joseph, he would have revealed himself to his brothers right then and there. But God recalled the dreams to his mind and guided him to be an instrument for the correction and restoration of the brothers.
i. God can, and must, sometimes use ways we think are harsh to call us to go to where He wants us to be. We must never resent it, because it was the hardness of our hearts that demanded it. Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word. (Psalm 119:67)"

• 3 DAYS IN PRISON. Considering what the brothers have done to Joseph before, 3 days in prison was a very light punishment. Also, maybe Joseph was thinking and contemplating very hard on how to deal with the current situation, that's why he decided to do this to his brothers. Emotions and rationale-- internal battles within his heart.

At first, Joseph commanded his stepbrothers to send one brother back home to bring the youngest brother (Benjamin) to Egypt, but after 3 days, Joseph changed his mind. He will now just imprison one brother, and asked the 9 brothers to go, carrying grains-- but they have to bring the youngest brother to Joseph in Egypt. To prove that they are not really spies, and for Joseph to be reunited with his brother.

• GUILTY. It seems that what Joseph has done was effective. His stepbrothers felt remorseful, and they have confessed/expressed their guilt with one another. They seem to relate their current helpless situation to what Joseph experienced at their hands, 20+ years ago. This must have been traumatic for all of them, including Joseph. But God has worked all things together for the good (Romans 8:28), and they will all soon see that.

Joseph heard and understood his stepbrothers' conversation (in Hebrew), and it moved him. He turned away, and wept. What a long overdue and needed cry was this!😭 To hear his brothers repentance (sincere regret) was touching, even if they were not really able to say sorry personally to him.

Of all the brothers, it was Simeon whom Joseph picked to be left in Egypt.

* Study Guide Commentary from David Guzik:

"They thought this complicated mess was before them because of the way they treated Joseph before, and their conscience was pricked. This was a good sign. The quickness with which they associated these events with their sin against Joseph probably meant they often remembered that sin.
i. There was not a completely logical connection between their current situation and their previous treatment of Joseph, but a guilty conscience sees every trouble as sin’s penalty."

"Joseph was overcome with emotion as he saw and understood this work of God in the conscience of his brothers. God had to do a deep work in the hearts of these brothers for the relationship to be reconciled.
i. There could be no quick and easy “We are sorry, Joseph!” in this situation. God guided events so the brothers saw their sin clearly and repented completely before Joseph was revealed and relationship was restored.
ii. Yet even before the restoration, Joseph did not allow himself to be bound by bitterness and hatred. He still loved his brothers and wanted to be with them (he returned to them again, and talked with them)."

• FREE GRAINS. Joseph was merciful and generous to his stepbrothers-- he gave them grains and he ordered that their money be returned to their sack, privately. However, the stepbrothers, not knowing that it was Joseph who did it, became very afraid. Maybe they felt that they were being framed or set-up for a crime-- after all, they were accused as being 'spies' in Egypt. They could have returned to Egypt to settle and pay for the grains, but I guess they were really afraid for their lives at this point.

• JACOB BEREAVED. After knowing everything that happened, old Jacob became very sad and troubled because he has lost 2 sons, Joseph and Simeon, and he can't seem to put Benjamin at risk. It got to a point that Reuben offered his 2 sons to death (with Jacob's concubine Bilhah), in the event that he was not able to bring back both Simeon and Benjamin back to Canaan. But the chapter ends without a clear resolution.

* Study Guide Commentary from David Guzik:

"a. We are honest men: The same brothers lied to their father some twenty years before, saying that Joseph was killed by a wild animal when they sold him to slave-traders.
b. One is no more: The brothers repeated the lie again, and would be proven dramatically wrong."

"b. All these things are against me: There was a sobering contrast between Jacob and Joseph. Joseph had far worse circumstances, but he never took the attitude all these things are against me.
i. The motto of too many Christians is all these things are against me. Instead, our motto should be Romans 8:28: And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

Read the Bible here: 

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+42&version=AMP