We’re looking here in the 44th Chapter of the Book of Genesis to one of the most human stories and dramatic stories that you possibly could have.  You will recall that the family of Joseph, that is the boys, eleven of them, have now come down to the land of Egypt again to buy corn.  Joseph insisted that they bring their brother Benjamin with them, and they’ve brought him along.  And Joseph made them a dinner and invited them to dinner, and as we concluded Chapter 43 we read they drank and were merry with him.  Apparently, they were at ease now.  They accepted Joseph’s hospitality and they feel very comfortable.

But he’s preparing a test for them, and we saw that he sent them back home, but he took his cup—I wish I could say more about that cup, but it was used for divining, for prophecy.  I don’t think that you can read into it here anything of a heathen nature for this man was a prophet of God.  We’ve had several instances of that.  But we find that that cup was put in the sack of Benjamin and, when the brethren came back, they were so sure that the cup was not there, the man should be put to death if you find it in any sack, and the rest of us will be your slaves.  They were so sure it was not with them.  But of course Joseph had put in Benjamin’s sack purposely or had one of his servants there to do that.  When it was discovered, all of them came back.  They went in before Joseph, and Joseph wanted to test them now about their love for their brother Benjamin.  He says, “Alright, Benjamin is guilty; leave him here, he’ll be my slave.”  You see they had sold him into slavery one time and now he says, “Just leave him here; he’ll be my slave; the rest of you can go home.”  

But we’re told that Judea came near to him and, believe me, Judea pled for his brother.  And he’s speaking for all of them.  And he recounts the history, and it’s a very tender story of how he said that they had to come again to the land of Egypt…and probably I should drop back in Verse 25 and begin just reading.  This is a story that doesn’t my comments.  Verse 25:

And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food.  And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man’s face, except our youngest brother be with us.  And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons:  And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since:  And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.  (Genesis 44:25-29)

Now there are several things here that I think we need to note.  I think that Judea here in this statement of recounting of what’s happened and the condition of their father, that actually the father had been deceived and Joseph can see that now and what actually was told the father of what happened to him.  And you wonder whether this isn’t a confession now.  I feel that it is for this is the first time these boys actually said exactly what had happened to the other one; that is, they said he was not; that he was dead, but they hadn’t told anything about him at all.  

Now we also see something else.  That Jacob is growing in grace, but he hasn’t arrived for the very simple reason that instead of trusting the Lord, he’s leaning on this boy Benjamin and actually it would have killed him, I’m sure of that, had he gone down.  There are those today, Christians, that when death comes that sometimes they can reveal and do reveal a wonderful faith in God, and others that the taking of a loved one absolutely causes them to collapse.  And I don’t care how much you love a loved one, Friends, as a child a God you ought to know if they are a child of God you’re going to see ‘em someday.  And the one walking by faith is not going to collapse at a time like that.  Then you recognize, therefore, that Jacob has not arrived yet, but we’re going to see he’s growing in grace.  

Now listen here to this boy Judah where he here is making a tremendous statement.  And I’m reading now again Verse 29.

And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.  Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad’s life; 31 It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave.

For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father forever.  

Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren.  For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.  (Genesis 44:29-34)

You notice the concern Judah had for old Jacob?  And Judah is the spokesman for the group.  I think anyone of the other brothers would have made this same statement.  It’s a magnificent statement.  And he is the spokesman for the group; any one of them would have done this.  And Joseph now has made the test.  Judah is willing to take his place.  

Now, Friends, there came one later on in the line of Judah, the lion of the tribe of Judah, and he bore the penalty for the guilty, but God commended his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  He took the place of the guilty.  Now Judah’s willing to take Benjamin’s place.  

CHAPTER 45

JOSEPH REVEALS HIMSELF TO HIS BRETHREN

Now that brings us to Chapter 45.  And this incident just continues right on here.  And here is where Joseph new reveals himself to his brethren and identified himself with them.  Now notice this in Verse 1 of Genesis 45.

Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried. (This time he couldn’t get out of the room.  He just broke down and began to weep.  And no one knows why except Joseph.  His own brethren at this time do not know.  And the servants that are there—the Egyptians didn’t know.  And now Joseph is going to clear the room.)  Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.  (Genesis 45:1)

And there’s coming a day when the Lord Jesus, as we said last time, is going to make himself known unto his brethren.  He came the first time, he came unto his own.  His own received him not.  And they delivered him to be crucified, but the day is coming when He comes the second time.  He’ll make himself known unto them and one shall say unto Him, “What are these wounds in thine hands,” then he shall answer, “Those which I was wounded in the House of my friends.”  He’ll make himself known in that day to his brethren.  In that day, why there will be open, we’re told, a fountain for cleansing in Jerusalem!  That is a family affair.  And that is the time that He makes himself known to them…the Lord Jesus.  What a picture this is!  

Now after the others got out, Poor Joseph, he’s just so charged with emotion here, I’m sure you can visualize the pent-up emotion of Joseph at this point, and we’re told here he wept aloud.

And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.  (Genesis 45:21)

They couldn’t understand what had happened over at Joseph’s palace.  He couldn’t conceal his feelings.  Now will you notice the reaction of his brothers.

And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.  (Genesis 45:3)

The word “troubled” that we have in our translation is really not strong enough.  For they were TERRIFIED at his presence!  I tell you, if you think they were afraid before, they really are afraid now.  About 23 years before they had seen him and the last they saw of him, they had sold him to the Ishmaelites, and believe me they feel now that he’ll want to get revenge.  They’re absolutely afraid; they’re terrified!  But there was no basis for their fear!  Will you listen.

And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.  (Genesis 45:4)

“I’m your brother!”  And this is the dramatic moment of this incident.  Can you imagine how they feel about it.  Now, notice the reaction of Joseph here.  He’s not angry, and he doesn’t seek revenge.  Why doesn’t he do that?  A normal human reaction would be, “Well, I’ll take care of you, Brethren, now for what you did to me.”  Listen to him.

Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.

You see the thing that Joseph could see in all of this is that God had permitted this for a purpose!  That God was moving in his life!  If you and I could see the hand of God in our lives—actually would we become angry and seek revenge?  I don’t think we would.  If you’ll notice the explanation that he gives here.  This man he gives God the Glory!  He says, God sent me before you….Now listen.  Let me read on in Verse 7.

And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.  

So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.  (Genesis 45:7-8)

God had been in his life!  And you can see now that this famine is yet to run.  Well, we’ll see in Verse 11, he says:

And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.

So that, frankly, there was about two years into the famine.  Now notice that he sees the hand of God.  Listen to him.

Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not: (Genesis 45:8)

He sends up word to have his father come down.  We’ll read on.

And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:  

And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.  (Genesis 45:10-11)

In other words, actually Jacob and his family could not have survived had they stayed up in the land of Philistine at this particular time.  They would have perished.  And so Joseph wants to bring them down to the land of Goshen, which is actually the best part of that land, and it was in that land that God was going to make them a nation, sheltered from the rest of the world.  Out of the land of Canaan, it’s in this place, and the life of the family reveals they needed to get out of the land of Canaan.  Now Verse 12.  He says:

And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.

I think that they stood there absolutely spellbound and were down on their faces and up again and just had nothing to say as they listened to Joseph speaking words that absolutely seemed unbelievable and would have been had he not been right there before them.  Now will you notice as we read on here.

Ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.  And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.  (Genesis 45:15)

This is a tender scene; these two brothers.  Full brothers.  Both marvelous men.  Joseph and Benjamin.

Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.  (Genesis 45:15)

Don’t you see that they are absolutely puzzled.  They were stunned.  They didn’t know what to say.  Now they begin to recover their senses, and they have quite a talk.  And so this thing now is spreading abroad.  We read here:

And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, Joseph’s brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.  (Genesis 45:16)

You see what had happened was that all this noise of this carrying on that it caused everybody to hear and Pharaoh wanted to know what was going on.  One of the servants from Joseph’s house came by and Pharaoh said, “What’s going on over there?”  He said, “Well, do you know those eleven men that came down from the land of Canaan, they’re his brethren.”  Well, it delighted Pharaoh!  And why would it delight him?  Well, he was of the same racial strain that Joseph and his brethren were.  You see the Hypos kings were on the throne now, and they had come from out in the desert.  And they probably hadn’t been able to trust the Egyptians too much, and so Pharaoh was delighted to have somebody that he could trust.  Now he’s delighted that there are going to be some more, and so: 

And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan;

And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.  Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones,  (And note that word “Wagon” because they say the wheel is quite an invention, you know, and these men from the land of Canaan were not using the wagons yet, but the Egyptians were well advanced, and he says now take your wagons…and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.  Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.  (Don’t need to bring anything extra; you will have it down here; we’ll furnish it to you.”)

And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.  

To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment. 

 And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way.  So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.  And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father, And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not.  (He just couldn’t believe this was true!)  And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived:  (This was a trilling moment for him!)  And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.  (Genesis 45:17-28)

But the prospect of seeing Joseph certainly influenced Jacob to make the decision to go down to Egypt, but do you think that he intended to remain in Egypt?  I don’t think so.  I think he intended to pay a brief visit to his son and then return back home as soon as the famine was over.  But he never returned except for the burial, his own.  He came back for his own funeral for he died in the land of Egypt.  And his whole family was moved down there.  This is a tremendous story, and we’ll follow it on.  The hand of God is now very evident in the live of Joseph.  Until next time, may God richly bless you, My Beloved!