Genesis 42:1-25
The interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams that God provided to Joseph came true, and Egypt had seven years of plenty, when they stored a huge amount of grain, and now, the seven years of famine had started.
For Jacob, they were running out of food, so he sends ten of his remaining sons to Egypt to see if they could purchase grain. Rachel was the woman Jacob loved and who had given birth to Joseph and Benjamin. With Rachel dead, and believing that Joseph too was dead, Benjamin was all that he had left of Rachel. So, Jacob was not willing to put Benjamin in any sort of danger, and Benjamin stayed home with him.
When the brothers arrive in Egypt and bow themselves in front of Joseph to buy grain, Joseph recognizes them, but they did not recognize Joseph. Joseph also remembers the dreams he was given by God. Joseph chooses to hide his identity from his brothers, and treats them harshly, accusing them of being spies.
Joseph tells the brothers that if they want to be cleared of the suspicion of being spies, they need to send one of them back home and bring Benjamin, and then put them all in prison. Three days later, Joseph changes his mind and tells the brothers that he will sell them grain, but they need to leave one of them as a hostage, and the rest need to go home and bring back Benjamin. Joseph selects Simeon to be the hostage and has him bound.
Then Joseph gives orders to fill the brothers’ bags with grain, but also to give each man’s money back in his sack. After the brothers depart, they find that their money had been returned to them, and they are dismayed, fearing that the ruler who treated them harshly would conclude that the brothers cheated Egypt. After hearing what happened and of the demand that Benjamin be sent to Egypt, Jacob refuses. He is more willing to have Simeon stay in an Egyptian prison than to expose Benjamin to danger.
In chapter 37 when the original dreams were given to Joseph, he was young and guileless. Then in chapters 39-41, we find Joseph to be a man of high moral principles and integrity. But now, we find Joseph to be a shrewd, calculating and ruthless ruler. He knows that the dreams of power had come true. But he seems not to grasp that the reason for his power was not for the sake of power, but to preserve the dream of the great nation of Israel.
The brothers are bound in guilt and the lie they have been telling their father for all these years that Joseph was attacked and killed by wild animals. They are defined by this, and they have no notion of becoming a great nation. They are desperately trying to stay alive and keep the truth of what they really did to Joseph away from their father.
Because of the brothers’ lies, Jacob is hanging on desperately to Benjamin and the dream of a great nation, thinking that he must keep Benjamin safe at all costs.
Joseph finds himself in a contest with his father Jacob. Joseph desperately wants to see Benjamin, his full-blooded brother, while Jacob desperately wants to keep Benjamin from going to Egypt. We know that Joseph will eventually win, since he has the power and the food. Jacob will succumb, once he and Benjamin become hungry enough.
So, what can we take away from this passage? It would be necessary to look at what God’s plan for humanity might be. We find that when God created humanity, he placed them in the garden to dwell with Him. After sin separated humans from God, God decides to create a nation out of Abraham’s descendants. After increasing in numbers and wealth, God frees Israel from slavery in Egypt and leads them to Mt. Sinai, where He gives them the Law and has them construct the Ark of the Covenant and the tabernacle to house it, so that He can dwell with the people. Once they are established in the Promised Land, and the temple is built, that would be where God dwells with His people.
In Revelations, we are told that once this age is over and Jesus Christ comes back and finishes His work, the old earth and the heavens will be replaced by new ones. Then God will come down to dwell with His people forever. Somehow, some have come to believe that when we die, we go to heaven to be with God forever. However, Revelations makes it clear that at the end of this age, God will come down to dwell with us forever.
God’s plan for humanity has always been to be able to dwell with His people, who had been freed from sin. That’s the reason Jesus was sent to earth, so that by His death on the cross, He takes the punishment that we should receive. If we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, our sins will be forgiven and our eternal future with God will be assured.
Joseph seems to believe that God gave him the dreams and put him in a position of power because he is loved. Understandable, since he was the obvious favorite of Jacob. What he does not realize is that God chose Joseph to save not only Egypt and the surrounding countries, but his own family, so that the plan for the nation of Israel can stay alive.
The brothers have sins that dominate their situation. They could not see that God was choosing Joseph to save them all so that the nation of Israel can be born eventually. They only felt jealousy for Joseph and the dreams he was given and decided to get rid of him. They had no clue concerning God’s plans.
Jacob, believing the lie that Joseph had died, is trying to preserve the promise that was given to Abraham, and then to Isaac, and then to him. With Joseph gone, Jacob probably believed that Benjamin, the only remaining son of his beloved Rachel, will carry on God’s promise of a great nation.
We probably have experienced similar things in our lives. Like Joseph, sometimes we are amazed at the good “fortune” in which we find ourselves, and just enjoy it, rather than wondering if God had other plans. Perhaps we were supposed to use what God gave us for His Kingdom work – People who needed some kind of help, people who needed to hear the Gospel, etc. – To be a blessing to others.
Perhaps at other times, like Joseph’s brothers, we see great things happening to other people and wonder why they are so lucky, not even thinking that God has a plan for those people to be a blessing to others.
And at other times, like Jacob, we may face a situation where we are forced to go in a direction we had not planned, nor wanted. At those times, we might need to think of the possibility that though our way seems unclear, it is nevertheless the direction God wants us to go for the furtherance of His kingdom.
We need to realize that God has a plan, and it is not just for our benefit, but so that we can be a blessing to others. Whether times seem good or bad, we need to let the Holy Spirit guide us so that we can be used by God, and not get in His way.
(The above is a summary of the message shared by Shun Takano during our worship on December 31, 2023.)
Japanese Congregational Church 