Turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 44. Genesis chapter 44. Remember, the larger section we're in is 43, 1 to 45, 28. It's the second visit to Egypt.
The food had run out. The grain had run out. So Jacob sends them back to Egypt, and they have this second visit with Joseph. And at the end of chapter 43, they drank and were married with Joseph.
Now, we're going to do both chapters 44 and 45 tonight. When the original authors wrote the scripture, Moses for instance, they didn't put chapter and verse divisions. That was a later addition. And the one separating 44 and 45 is probably one of the worst possible separations that we have in the Bible.
In fact, I'll let Calvin's editor and his commentaries describe it. He says, the division of chapters in this place is singularly unhappy. It interrupts one of the most touching scenes recorded in the sacred volume, just in the middle. It separates the irresistible appeal of Judah to the feelings of Joseph from its immediate and happy effect.
So we're not going to stop with Joseph just about to reveal himself. We'll go ahead and cover both 44 and 45. So I'll begin reading in 44 at verse 1. And he commanded the steward of his house saying, fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man's money in the mouth of his sack.
Also put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest and his grain money. So he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. As soon as the morning dawned, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys. When they had gone out of the city and were not yet far off, Joseph said to his steward, get up, follow the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, why have you repaid evil for good?
Is not this the one from which my Lord drinks and with which he indeed practices divination? You have done evil in so doing." So he overtook them and he spoke to them these same words. And they said to him, why does my Lord say these words? Far be it from us that your servants should do such a thing.
Look, we brought back to you from the land of Cain and the money which we found in the mouth of our sacks. How then could we steal silver or gold from your Lord's house? With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my Lord's slaves. And he said, now also let it be according to your words.
He with whom it is found shall be my slave, and you shall be blameless. Then each man speedily let down his sack to the ground, and each opened his sack. So he searched. He began with the oldest and left off with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.
Then they tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey and returned to the city. So Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, and he was still there. And they fell before him on the ground. And Joseph said to them, What deed is this you have done?
Did you not know that such a man as I can certainly practice divination? Then Judah said, what shall we say to my Lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves?
God has found out the iniquity of your servants. Here we are, my Lord's slaves, both we and he also, with whom the cup was found. But he said, far be it from me that I should do so. The man in whose hand the cup was found, he shall be my slave.
And as for you, go up in peace to your father. Then Judah came near to him and said, O my Lord, please let your servant speak a word in my Lord's hearing, and do not let your anger burn against your servant, for you are even like Pharaoh. My Lord asked his servant, saying, Have you a father or a brother? And we said to my Lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, who is young.
His brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother's children, and his father loves him. Then you said to your servants, bring him down to me that I may set my eyes on him. And we said to my lord, the lad cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die. But you said to your servants, unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall see my face no more.
So it was when we went up to your servant, my father, that we told him the words of my Lord. And our father said, go back and buy us a little food. But we said, we cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down.
For we may not see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us. Then your servant, my father, said to us, you know that my wife bore me two sons. And the one went out from me, and I said, surely he is torn to pieces, and I have not seen him since. But if you take this one also from me, and calamity befalls him, you shall bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.
Now therefore, when I come to your servant, my father, and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up in the lad's life, it will happen. When he sees that the lad is not with us, that he will die. So your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant, our father, with sorrow to the grave. For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father forever.
Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers. For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me, lest perhaps I see the evil that would come upon my father? Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him. And he cried out, Make everyone go out from me.
So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians in the house of Pharaoh heard it. Then Joseph said to his brothers, I am Joseph. Does my father still live?
But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. And Joseph said to his brothers, Please come near to me. So they came near. Then he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.
But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here. For God sent me before you to preserve life. For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
So now it was not you who sent me here, but God. And he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me, do not tarry.
You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children's children, your flocks and your herds and all that you have. There I will provide for you, lest you and your household and all that you have come to poverty, for there are still five years of famine. And behold, your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my mouth that speaks to you. So you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt and of all that you have seen, and you shall hurry and bring my father down here.
Then he fell on his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. Moreover, he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. And after that, his brothers talked with him. Now the report of it was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brothers have come.
So it pleased Pharaoh and his servants well. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, say to your brothers, do this, load your animals and depart. Go to the land of Canaan. Bring your father and your households and come to me.
I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land. Now you are commanded, do this. Take carts out of the land of Egypt for your little ones and your wives. Bring your father and come.
Also, do not be concerned about your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours. Then the sons of Israel did so, and Joseph gave them carts according to the command of Pharaoh, and he gave them provisions for the journey. He gave to all of them, to each man, changes of garments. But to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of garments.
And he sent to his father these things, ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and food for his father for the journey. So he sent his brothers away, and they departed. And he said to them, See that you do not become troubled along the way. And they went up out of Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father.
And they told him, saying, Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart stood still, because he did not believe them. But when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived. Then Israel said, It is enough.
Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die. Amen.
Introduction
Well, as I said, there is that insertion or chapter break that really divides what is probably one chapter in terms of theme. And I want to look first at the arrest of the brothers in chapter 44, verses 1 to 17. Secondly, the intercession of Judah. chapter 44, verses 18 to 34, and then finally the disclosure of Joseph's identity there in chapter 45. And it's interesting because Judah was the one who suggested selling Joseph into slavery in chapter 37, and here he has pledged himself as surety to Jacob, and he functions as an intercessor before Pharaoh, pledging his place as a slave instead of Benjamin.
So one of the themes that we see is the transformation of the brothers as we come to this particular section. But in the first place,
Arrest of the Brothers
in terms of the arrest of the brothers, notice the instructions given to the steward in verses 1 to 5. He is to fill their sacks similarly to what he did prior in returning the money to them. When they returned to Canaan, they found that they had had their money. So the similar situation as to when Joseph ordered their money to be put back in their sacks in chapter 42, verses 25 and following.
And then the specific request by Joseph to his steward to put the cup in Benjamin's sack. Now, we know what's going to happen and we know why this is done, but we ought to remember it is for the expressed purpose of him ascertaining and determining that Benjamin is safe in the hands of his brothers. Matthew Poole says he does this, puts the cup in Benjamin's sack with a design to discover their intentions and affections towards Benjamin. whether they did envy him and would desert him in his danger as they did to Joseph, or would cleave to him that hence he might take his measures how to deal with him and with them." So he's not testing them in some sort of a vicious, mean-hearted, unkind, or ungodly way. Remember, his chief concern is the safety of his brother, and as well, he is desirous to see his father.
And so he puts into place this particular plan so that they will find the cup with Benjamin and then he can ascertain where Benjamin stands relative to his brothers. And then that whole issue of divination. In verse 2, it speaks of this silver cup, and then in verse 5, when the steward comes to them, is not this the one from which my Lord drinks, and with which He indeed practices divination? You have done evil in so doing.
Now, that causes a bit of concern on the people of God in our New Covenant setting, because the Scriptures, the Old Testament, denounce that sort of an approach to things. The text doesn't say that Joseph did, in fact, practice divination. They thought he did, but the text doesn't say that. And why this would have been in use, it was not uncommon at this particular time.
Robert Alter expresses it this way. He says, the probable mechanism of divination in a goblet would be to interpret patterns on the surface of the liquid it contained or in drops running down its sides. Now we might think that seems a bit odd, but we live in a day and age when people look at lines on hands, or they look at tea leaves, or they look at crystal balls. So I don't know that we're in a better posture to judge what the Egyptian soothsayers did back in their particular time.
Alter goes on to say, divination would have been a plausible activity on the part of a member of the high Egyptian bureaucracy with its technology of soothsaying, but the emphasis it is given here is also linked with Joseph's demonstrated ability to predict the future and his superiority of knowledge in relation to his brothers. Now, knowing what we know of Joseph, he did not practice divination. Remember that he himself said that he didn't have the skill or ability, unaided by God, to interpret the dreams. He gave the glory to God and recognized that this was a gift given to him by God.
Now the fact that he was able to interpret dreams and the fact that he was able to predict the future based on those particular dreams would have certainly caused those in Egypt to believe that he had the skill or the gift of divination. Hence this silver cup, probably they assume that he used that to practice divination. And then notice, after giving these instructions, the steward then confronts the brothers. And he overtakes them according to verse 6, and he spoke to them these same words.
And then notice in the first place, they deny it outright. Verse 7, and they said to him, why does my Lord say these words? Far be it from us that your servants should do such a thing. They realize that they're in trouble again, and they deny that they have engaged in this sort of activity.
As well, in verse 8, they highlight the fact that initially, when they found their money in their sacks as they returned to Canaan, they brought that money back. Remember, they brought not only double, in case the price of corn had gone up, but they also brought that original money. And this is a good defense on their part. Straight out denial in verse 7, and then in verse 8, hey, the first time this happened, we returned it.
And then notice the proposition concerning punishment in verse 9, "...with whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my Lord's slaves." Now they are very sure that they are innocent. They are very sure that they are guiltless. And one wonders, had they forgotten that original visit when they opened their sacks and found that money? This seems to be a bit brazen or perhaps a bit optimistic on their part to engage in this sort of a proposition in terms of their punishment that is proposed.
If it's found with one of them, then he should be executed, and for the rest of us, we will happily go into slavery, into Egypt. Now, execution for theft. was strict even, or extreme rather, even in a pagan context. But because it was a sacred artifact, that this was believed to be an implement for divination, that could have attached or appended the death penalty to it. But then notice, the steward then investigates in verses 10 to 13.
Only the thief would be enslaved, and the rest would go free. So the men opened their sacks, and then the stewards searched from the oldest to the youngest. And of course, the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. This is reminiscent of a previous occasion when Laban searched the saddle and the belongings of Benjamin's mother, Rachel.
Well, in that particular investigation, Laban came up short. He didn't find the household idols. And here, this is just the opposite. Benjamin didn't actually steal the cup, but here the cup is found in his belongings.
And that's the emphasis there in verses 12 and 13. Verse 13 tells us, Then they tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey and returned to the city. So they know that this is indeed a very serious situation. The tearing of the clothes is a good expression of grief at this particular point. when they anticipate the execution of their baby brother Benjamin, and when they see a life of slavery set forth for them.
But then notice, we come before Joseph in verses 14 to 17. The brothers fall before Joseph, according to verse 14. So Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, and he was still there, and they fell before him on the ground. Gil makes the observation here with reference to this.
He says, not only in a way of reverence, again fulfilling his dream, remember the dream that they would bow down to him, the sheafs of the brothers would bow before the sheaf of Joseph, and then the sun and the moon and the stars would ultimately bow down before Joseph, according to his two dreams in Genesis 37. So Gil says, not only in a way of reverence, again fulfilling his dream, but as persons in the utmost distress and affliction, throwing themselves at his feet for mercy. They know they're in trouble. They have proposed the punishment that's in view.
The cup has been found. As far as they are concerned, they are guilty before this second in command in Egypt. Now notice that Joseph examines them in verse 15. Joseph said to them, what deed is this you have done?
Did you not know that such a man as I can certainly practice divination? Again, I'm not convinced that he does it with that particular cup. He is simply making a statement of fact concerning Egyptian bureaucrats. And then notice that Judah responds.
Verse 16, Judah now assumes leadership, and this is fitting and appropriate because Judah is the tribe of kingship. And we see him emerge in this way, and I think of all the transformation, we see it most explicitly in him. Again, in chapter 37, it was his idea to sell Joseph into slavery. Then Judah had that incident in chapter 38 with Tamar, and there it seems that he learned a bit of humility.
There it seems that he learned to dial it back in terms of this sort of overtness and aggressiveness and this sort of harshness. And now we see him on behalf of the brothers speak to Joseph. Verse 16, Judah said, What shall we say to my Lord? What shall we speak or how shall we clear ourselves?
In other words, We have been found out. You've got the silver cup. You've got the smoking gun. You've got the evidence.
They don't try to say it was planted. They don't try to wiggle their way out. But then notice what Judah says in the middle of verse 16, God has found out the iniquity of your servants. Here we are, my Lord's slaves, both we and he also with whom the cup was found.
So Judah assumes the leadership role and speaks on behalf of all the brothers. When he says what he says, God has found out the iniquity of your servants. Some commentators interpret that of the overarching crime where they sold Joseph and into slavery. Whether that's the case or not, I'm not convinced, but there is some merit for that position.
In chapter 42, they have a conviction. 4221, I think it is. They have conviction. They remember the reality that their brother pleaded with them. while he was in the pit and they were eating their lunch. So we have seen this conviction.
Perhaps this is what he is suggesting or saying, and basically saying that all that is happening has come as a result of God's judgment upon us for the various things that we have done. And then notice in verse 17, and again, here we see Joseph's purpose. He said, far be it from me that I should do so. The man in whose hand the cop was found, he shall be my slave, and as for you, go up in peace to your father.
Robert Alter again makes this observation. He says, this is, of course, the last turn of the screw in Joseph's testing of his brothers. Will they allow Rachel's other son to be enslaved as they did with her elder son? So see, everything falls upon this particular situation.
This is Joseph's point. to ascertain the safety of his brother, the brother that is of the same mother and father along with him, and he wants to vet the brothers, he wants to see what the brothers are made of. And
Intercession of Judah
that brings us secondly to the intercession of Judah now in verses 18 to 34. And basically
Review of the First Visit
he reviews the first visit. In verses 18 to 23, he speaks of the previous interaction that they had with Joseph. He does leave out a couple of the details. I don't think it's sin, I don't think it's deception, but rather he's just portraying the situation on their first visit.
We visited, he doesn't mention that Joseph called them spies, but he does mention that he told them or told Joseph that they had a father and they had a younger brother and that Joseph wanted that younger brother to come. So that's the essence of verses 18 to 23. And Alter again says, what is remarkable is that now, look at verse 20, this is intriguing. Verse 20 he says, or we said to my Lord, we have a father, an old man and a child of his old age who is young.
His brother is dead and he alone is left of his mother's children and his father loves him. Remember, it was that reason why the brothers hated Joseph. They knew that he was favored. They knew that Jacob loved him above the others because he was the son of Rachel.
They knew that he loved Rachel more than he loved Leah. They knew that he loved Rachel more than he loved Zilpah or Bilah, the maidens. They knew this. It was conspicuous and this was one of the reasons they despised Joseph and they wanted to get rid of him.
So, Alter says, what is remarkable is that now Judah can bring himself, out of concern for his old father, to accept the painful fact of paternal favoritism, and his father loves him. That was the root of the brother's hostility to Joseph. He's come full circle. He's embraced this, and intriguingly, he, the one that was selling him into slavery, is now pledging himself as a slave so that his brother can be free.
So there is a great transformation occurring in the brothers represented here by Judah. And then he
Jacob's Reaction Reported to Joseph
highlights the previous interaction with Jacob in verses 24 to 29. And it's interesting because this would have been the first time that Joseph heard about Jacob's reaction after the brothers went home. Remember, up to this point, they don't recognize Joseph. Joseph recognizes them, but he's never asked for the details concerning the brother they keep claiming is dead.
So he has no idea what happened on that day after these Midianite travelers came, purchased him, and then took him off to Egypt. So he is hearing now, the first time in 22 years, the response of his father. And remember, maybe some of you might remember, I mentioned last week how John Gill kept saying it was 22 years, and I couldn't quite figure out how. Well, in 45, there's two references that they were only two years into the famine.
So there's a 22-year period since the time that he was sold into slavery till now. Remember, he was 17 when he was sold into slavery, stood before Pharaoh at the age of 30, and then you had the seven years of plenty, and now they're two years into the seven years of famine. Good for me today to finally solve that riddle as to why Gil kept saying 22 years. But there was this 22-year period where he didn't know.
And if you look specifically in verses 24 to 29, so it was when he went up to your servant, my father, that we told him the words of my Lord. And our father said, go back and buy us a little food. But we said, we cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down, for we may not see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us.
Then your servant, my father, said to us, you know that my wife bore me two sons." Again, there's Jacob, only Rachel. Now, he had 12 sons, but it was two sons by Rachel, the one that he esteemed and the one that he loved. It was Joseph and Benjamin. Verse 27, Then your servant my father said to us, You know that my wife bore me two sons, and the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn to pieces, and I have not seen him since.
Again, that's revelation to Joseph. He didn't know that that was Jacob's response. One commentator says, Joseph now hears for the first time what happened at home when the brothers came back without him. He hears of his father's lament and grief that still persists.
He hears the father's cry, torn to pieces, torn to pieces, which still echoes in the brother's ears. And as Judah is interceding for Benjamin in verse 29, he lays it all on the line in terms of the gravity of the situation. But if you take this one also from me, Benjamin, and calamity befalls him, you shall bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave. So Judah before Joseph. highlights the first visit and why they brought Benjamin to begin with.
He then indicates what the dialogue with Jacob consisted of, and now in verses 30 and following, he basically intercedes on behalf of Benjamin. He speaks concerning the likely consequences if Benjamin does not return. That's in verses 30 to 32. My father will die.
This will be too much for him. He cannot handle it. He's already lost the son from Rachel. He doesn't want to lose the other son from Rachel.
And here and then
Judah Offers Himself as Surety
he offers himself in verses 33 and 34. Now, therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my Lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers. For how shall I go up to my Father if the lad is not with me, lest perhaps I see the evil that would come upon my Father? And herein he is, in fact, a type of Jesus Christ." And John Gill makes this observation.
In this, Judah was a type of Christ, from whose tribe Christ sprang, who became the surety of God's Benjamins, his children who are beloved by him and as dear to him as his right hand, and put himself in their legal place instead and became sin and a curse for them that they might go free, as Judah desired his brother Benjamin might. You've got Judah functioning in a typological way, and then Joseph does as well, and we'll see that in chapter 45.
Disclosure of Joseph's Identity
And that brings us to the disclosure of Joseph's identity in chapter 45.
Joseph Sends Away the Egyptians
Notice in the first place, he discloses that identity. He sends the servants away. Not because he doesn't want to own his brothers, but he doesn't want to out his brothers. He sends the servants away so that the Egyptian court and Pharaoh himself don't hear the unsavory details in terms of his brothers selling him into slavery.
He's going to own the brothers to be sure. Pharaoh is going to give the order that the brothers go back and fetch Jacob with all these wagons or carts and bring him to Egypt. So he asks them to leave so that it would be just the family and they could deal with these particular issues. Now, in terms of the disclosure of his identity in verses 3 to 8,
Joseph's Emotional Reunion
well, first notice in verse 2, "...he wept aloud, and the Egyptians in the house of Pharaoh heard it." Again, this was probably all in close proximity. They are out of earshot in terms of the specifics. that are going to be discussed. So he is overcome with grief. We've already seen that when he first sees his brothers, we see it here, and then we'll see it in verses 14 and 15 when he weeps over Benjamin, and then later on in chapter 46 when he sees Jacob.
So he's a man of emotion. He is a man who has had grief, but he is a man that is in fact overcome now with joy and thanksgiving. And then notice what the graciousness of Joseph. Well, let's look at verse three.
Then Joseph said to his brothers, I am Joseph. Does my father still live? Now that's an interesting question because they've just told him that he still lives. It probably means how is he doing?
Give me the low down. I want all the ins and outs. I'm Joseph. I'm your brother.
I want to know how our father Jacob is doing. But notice in verse three, but his brothers could not answer him for they were dismayed in his presence. This is one of those occasions where you'd like to be a fly on the wall and kind of watch and see how things fell out, because this had to have been a shock for them. Because later in verse 12, he's going to say, it's my mouth that speaks.
Remember prior, he's using an interpreter. Now he's speaking in the native Hebrew tongue, and they are hearing their brother Joseph, and he is disclosing that he is in fact Joseph. So I'm sure there was quite a deal, a great deal of dismay and shock in their hearts and on their faces. And then in verse 4, Joseph said to his brothers, please come near to me.
So they came near. Then he said, I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Now, here we see the graciousness of Joseph, and the reason why Joseph is gracious is because he fears God, because he loves God, and because he understands something concerning the providence of God. Notice, in verses 5 to 8, in the first place, he tells them not to be grieved or angry with themselves.
This is indicative of the reality that he forgives them. He has forgiven this particular sin. Later on, when we conclude tonight, there's some good lessons concerning providence. A proper view of God's providence will help promote in our hearts a willing attitude in terms of forgiveness.
I mean, this was a horrific crime. They wanted to kill him, they ultimately throw him into a pit, they eat a sandwich while he's pleading with them to get out of the pit, and then they sell him to these Midianite traders. I mean, this is horrible, and yet he's able to forgive them. Why?
Because he understands theology, and he understands something of God's providence, and he's able to appreciate that in the midst of this tragedy, God is overruling it for good. As a result, Joseph has a willingness to forgive them. He has a willingness and a desire to deal with them in a gracious, loving, and kind way. So he tells them not to be grieved or angry with themselves.
He forgives them according to 5a. And then he rightly understands the providence of God in the entirety of the situation. Notice the emphasis four times on God's sovereignty, four times on the reality that the Lord is in charge. Verse 5b, for God sent me before you to preserve life.
For these two years the famine has been in the land and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. Second, God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, thirdly, but God. And then a fourth reference, and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and Lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
Not technically a father, but as one who spoke wisdom to the crown, he would be considered in a fatherly sort of a way. He was an advisor to the king, he was an advisor to Pharaoh, and he says that it was God's prerogative to put him into this particular position. Now, based on that reality, he then commands them to return to Jacob in verses 9 to 15. He commands them to bring Jacob to Egypt.
The fact that Joseph is still alive, I'm sorry, verse 9, Now, we see what happens when Jacob is told, literally, his heart stopped. That's what the text says. His heart stopped. He did not believe them.
He probably thought they were pulling his leg or playing some sick, twisted joke upon them. But when he saw the carts and when he saw the gear that was provided by Pharaoh to take him back to Egypt, he was revived. I don't think it actually means he keeled over, died, and then stood up and was revived, but it's that sort of emphasis on the news that he received stopped his heart. So in verse 9, he says, go tell Jacob that I'm alive.
Invite him to dwell in Goshen, verse 10, the time of the darkness that came over the land in the ninth plague. But the children of Israel had light in their dwelling in the land of Goshen. So, Pharaoh did give them Goshen. Now, when we get to chapter 1 in the book of Exodus, we see mistreatment now come upon the children of Israel because the Pharaoh that dealt graciously with Joseph died, and there was a new Pharaoh who was not gracious to Israel.
Remember, it's important not only that these people eat, but that they're in Egypt when we get to the book of Exodus. So, all of these things are in the plan and purpose of God. And then there was a promise of provision in the midst of the five remaining years of famine. The reference to his mouth, again, he is speaking in their native Hebrew without an interpreter.
And then in verse 13, he tells them to hurry. He wants to see his father. He is now with his brother and everything is reconciled in terms of the 12 of them. And then in verses I'm sorry, verse 14 and 15.
Now this is certainly a great illustration of what Paul tells us in Ephesians and Colossians, that we're to forgive one another even as God in Christ forgave us. I mean, he's got a willing heart in terms of forgiveness with these men. that wanted to do great harm to him and did do great harm to him. But here he falls on his brother Benjamin, who he loves above the rest, and then he kisses all his brothers and wept over them. And now the word gets back to Pharaoh.
And in verses 16 to 20, we learn that this Pharaoh is a good and gracious man. I mean, he's a pagan, he's an Egyptian, he's the king of Egypt, he's bad that way theologically. He subscribes to the false gods and all that sort of thing, but he sounds like a great fellow in terms of his kindness and benevolence with reference to the people of Israel. And so I think this section in verses 16 to 20 highlights something about Pharaoh himself, that at least this particular Pharaoh had a common grace about him where he was very generous and very benevolent and very gracious, but I think it speaks secondly to the goodness of Joseph.
I mean, how much did Pharaoh esteem Joseph if he is willing to commit these sorts of resources and basically promise to the children of Israel the very best in the land of Egypt? So it speaks well to Pharaoh, but it also speaks well to Joseph and the fact that he was indeed a faithful right-hand man. to Pharaoh. And then
Brothers Return to Jacob
the brothers comply according to verses 21 to 28. Verses 21 to 24 tells us the stuff that they had. It tells us specifically that he gave to all of them, to each man, verse 22, changes of garments, but to Benjamin he gave 300 pieces of silver and five changes of garments, just like when they had lunch. He gave more to Benjamin because his affection and his love is upon the brother of his mother.
And so this is the emphasis here. So then they go back and then in verses 25 to 28, they make this report to Jacob. Verse 25, then they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father. And they told him saying, Joseph is still alive and he is governor over all the land of Egypt.
I don't think it's hard to understand that Jacob's heart stood still because he did not believe that. It's one of those passages in Scripture that makes absolutely perfect sense. Joseph was the son whom he greatly loved. Remember the coat of many colors?
He doted on that young man and thought he had been torn in pieces by beasts of the field, and now the brothers are saying that he's not only alive, but he's the governor over Egypt. He's the one we've been dealing with. He's the one that's been doling out the corn to us. So certainly this would have been a blow to Jacob in terms of not believing what they were saying.
And then verse 27, but when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived. Then Israel said, It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.
Now, from a literary standpoint, the story is beautiful. I mean, it's absolutely glorious. It gets into all of the details and the emotions involved, and there's that tension, and it crescendos, and then Joseph reveals himself to the brothers, and Joseph then dispatches the brothers to go and fetch Jacob and bring Jacob back to Egypt. It's a glorious and a wonderful display of the human element in terms of God's people with reference to their dealings with one another.
Theological Lessons
But as well, there's some very good theological lessons that we can glean from this section. As I said earlier, the transformation of the brothers. The actions of Joseph toward his brothers were not designed as an expression of his vengeance. It was not designed as a means simply to deceive for deception's sake.
He wants to ensure the safety of Benjamin, and so he goes through these things to test the brothers. The brothers passed the test according to verse or chapter 44. Judah's intercession for Joseph worked because now Joseph sees that Judah is unwilling to dispatch or rather send Benjamin into slavery. This goes a long way in Joseph's mind and this then leads him to reveal himself to them.
As far as he's concerned at this point, The brothers can be trusted, they are taking care of Benjamin, and he's going to reveal himself to them.
Providence of God
Secondly, in terms of the providence of God, that four-fold emphasis in verses 5 to 8 in chapter 45 underscores the primary emphasis in the section. It is on the providence of God. Genesis 50-20 will summarize that lesson overall, overarchingly. But that section here in 5-8 with the fourfold emphasis on God sending, God doing, God promoting Joseph in Egypt, that is the ascription of the providence of God.
And that providence of God ensured the survival of Israel, according to verse 5, and provides a great deliverance, according to verse 7. But it also ensured the protection of the seed. If you look at verses 7 and 8. It says, and God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth.
Remember? It's one of the overarching concerns of the book of Genesis is the seed promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is to keep that people together so that in the fullness of the time when God sends forth his son, born of a woman and born under the law to redeem those who are under the law, this is one of the reasons why Abraham and his family are separated in the book of Genesis to provide the human vehicle for the instrumentality for the coming Messiah. And so the Lord does that in his providence with reference to this particular situation.
Sovereignty and Human Responsibility
And then a third thing we ought to appreciate from this section is both God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. Now if you have Calvin's commentaries, I commend to you pages 377 to 380. He has some really good stuff on Providence in general, but then with reference to man's responsibility. And as I read through it, I drew out four lessons.
First of all, the reality of God's providence, the fact that there is providence. He says, we are also instructed in what manner and for what purpose we must consider the providence of God. When men of inquisitive minds dispute concerning it, they not only mingle and pervert all things without regard to the end design, but invent every absurdity in their power in order to sully the justice of God." Again, can't give you all those pages, 377 to 380, but there's some good stuff there. Secondly, he does attempt, or rather deals with the attempt to distinguish between God's will and God's permission.
Sometimes people have balked at the reality of an absolute sovereign God, and they have retreated to the language of permission. God permits it. Didn't will it, but rather He permitted it. Well, if you know anything about the sovereignty of God and providence, God wills it.
God decrees it. God determines it. And to this point, Calvin says, away then with that vain figment that by the permission of God only and not by his counsel or will, those evils are committed, which he afterwards turns to a good account. A third observation I got from Calvin was the reality of the responsibility of man.
Now, because God is sovereign, and because God overruled this, does not militate against the reality that these men sinned. They transgressed. Now, certainly Joseph forgave them, and hopefully God in Christ forgave them, but the reality is, is we can never hide behind the sovereignty of God for sins that we commit. And we can't say, well, you know, good came as a result of that, so I'm going to go out and send more and more so that good things can abound.
That is never authorized in Scripture. The sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man are both taught in the Scripture. The one doesn't cancel out the other. Hyper-Calvinism obviously so stresses the sovereignty of God that they negate the responsibility of man.
Arminians and Pelagians go the other way. They highlight and capitalize on the responsibility of man to the negation of the absolute and comprehensive sovereignty of God. We're not supposed to do that. We're supposed to treat both as biblical, as scriptural, and as true.
God is absolutely sovereign, and we are absolutely responsible. Calvin on this point says, we know that men are not exempt from guilt. Although God may, beyond expectation, bring what they wickedly attempt to a good and happy issue, it must be maintained that the deeds of men are not to be estimated according to the event, but according to the measure in which they may have failed in their duty or may have attempted something contrary to the divine command and may have gone beyond the bounds of their calling. Basically, he says the guide is God's law.
It's not the results, it's not the end game. The reality of Ephesians 3.20 is obvious in this passage. He's able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all that we ask or think. But when God does that, it doesn't negate the responsibility of our sin.
And for us to think otherwise is folly, and it is to hide behind the sovereignty of God and not to engage in a proper estimation of the responsibility of man. Both things are taught. In fact, Joseph says as much. But as for you, you meant evil against me.
That was your purpose. You sinned in your actions toward me. What you did was wrong. God did overrule it for good.
So they are not supposed to say, well, God overruled it for good, so that means we weren't evil. No, that's not the way we're supposed to deal with God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. And earlier I had mentioned this point. The providence of God promotes the forgiveness of sin. or helps promote the forgiveness of sin.
When Joseph sees what happens, it helps him to be able to deal kindly and graciously with his brothers. Calvin again says, the magnitude of the crime committed against him might so have incensed him as to cause him to burn with the desire of revenge. But when he reflects that their wickedness had been overruled by the wonderful and unwanted goodness of God, for getting the injury received, he kindly embraces the men whose dishonor God had covered with His grace. On occasion, as you read through Calvin's commentaries, there'll be these sections where they're very pastoral and very powerful in terms of the application of God's truth to everyday life.
Again, it's pages 377. to 380 in his commentary on Genesis.
Typological Significance of Judah and Joseph
And then the final observation is the typological significance. We already saw it relative to Judah, and we're going to see it relative to Joseph. And again, I'll turn to John Gill, because he's probably one of the best guys in terms of these typological sort of interpretations. He says, in Joseph's making himself known unto his brethren, he was a type of Christ who manifests himself to his people alone, and as he does not unto the world, saying unto them that he is Jesus the Savior, their friend and brother, and whom they crucified, whose sins were the cause of his sufferings, and yet encourages them to draw nigh unto him with an humble and holy boldness, giving them abundant reason to believe that He will receive them kindly, saying that all that were done to Him were by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God and for their good, even for their eternal salvation, and that they might not perish but have everlasting life, and to whom He now gives change of raiment, riches, and honor, yea, durable riches and righteousness, and declares it to be His will that where He is they may be also, and behold His glory. and this is sufficient to engage them, to reckon all their worldly enjoyments as mere stuff, contemptible things in comparison of the good and glories of another world they are hastening to, where there will be fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore, and therefore should not fall out by the way as they too often do." I think that's a great Great observation, not only on Joseph, but on Judah as well.
The typological reference with reference to Judah and to Joseph telling us something about the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only seed in terms of keeping the people together until that fullness of time, but there are lessons embedded in there concerning the Savior himself. Remember in Romans chapter 5, the Apostle Paul tells us that Adam was a type of him who was to come. He doesn't become a type when Paul writes Romans 5.
He's a type in the garden. There are typical references throughout the Old Testament that sketch for us the portrait of the Savior to come, and it is imperative that we understand that. The Bible is a redemptive document. It's all about Jesus from the beginning to the end.
So, those sorts of things ought not to shock us, but rather it shows us the mind of God in sketching before the fact the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, let's close in a word of prayer.
Closing Prayer
Our Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for this account concerning Joseph and the brothers and Jacob. God, we thank you for your providence and for the way that you kept the people together, for the way that you provided this great deliverance through the man that you raised up through such difficult circumstances and afflictions in his own life. God, we thank you as well for the picture of Christ in Judah and in Joseph here in Genesis 44 and 45.
And we give praise to you for our Lord Jesus Christ, that one who sits enthroned at the right hand of the Father, that vice-regent over the universe itself, that one who has called us to himself and has given us every blessed, every good and wonderful gift. We give praise to you for our Savior. And we ask that you would go with us now, that you would watch over us and give us safety and grace and help and strength. And we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.