DAY THIRTEEN: 

Ten Brothers Go Down to Egypt

Genesis 42:1-38

Yesterday we saw Joseph begin his day as a prisoner, just as he had for so many years. But by the end of that day he was Pharaoh's right-hand man, dressed in the finest of clothes and running Egypt. An amazing turn of events! But it really wasn't a sudden thing. It was thirteen years in the making. Joseph was seventeen when his brothers sold him into slavery. He is now thirty years old. Thirteen years as a slave and a prisoner would have discouraged and hardened most men. But Joseph drew near to the Lord. The proud boy with the grand dreams and the colorful coat was humbled, and he had nowhere to turn but God. The Lord used those years and all that Joseph endured to shape him for this moment. God does the same thing with us, if we will let Him. The hard times we endure will prepare us for what God has for us if we will just learn the lessons therein.

Joseph went to work. He decreed that one-fifth of the harvest in each of those seven good years be gathered and stored. Joseph brought the Lord's favor and the managerial gifts he received from Him and soon there was so much grain that he stopped measuring it! When one storehouse was filled it was sealed up and another built.

Then came the bad years, which were so bad that soon everyone forgot those good years. I came across an article that cited an ancient inscription that told of seven years when the Nile River didn't overflow its banks as usual. The floods each spring brought a new layer of rich soil and the needed moisture to sprout the new crop. Without this help from nature all the man-made irrigation systems they had devised were useless. The rest of the Middle East also experienced a great drought and famine. The ancient world looked to Egypt. Joseph opened the granaries and fed not just Egypt but many other nations as well.

Jacob and his family were living in Hebron when the famine hit. Food was growing scarce and there were lots of hungry mouths to feed. Jacob had heard that there was grain in Egypt, and he told his sons to go down and buy some. The thought of going to Egypt caused a lump in their throat. That's where they had sent Joseph. He was such a wimp that there's no way he could have handled slavery. He must be dead by now. But it was either go to Egypt or starve, so they set out with enough donkeys and money to bring back food for their hungry families. Jacob kept Benjamin, his youngest son and Joseph's full brother, with him. He was all that was left to remind him of his beloved Rachel. He had already lost Joseph, and he couldn't bear to be bereaved again.

The ten brothers arrived in Egypt and asked where they had to go to buy grain. They were told to go and see Zaphenath-Paneah, the man in charge of everything. You'll remember that's the Egyptian name Pharaoh gave Joseph. They found an important-looking man who was giving orders. They came and bowed down before him out of respect and maybe even a little bit of fear. Joseph instantly recognized his ten older brothers! And here they were, bowing before him, just like his dream so many years ago! They didn't recognize Joseph, however. No doubt he looked quite different than when they had last seen him. At least twenty years had passed, and they all assumed that Joseph was long dead.

Joseph didn't let on that he knew them. He spoke to them through an interpreter even though he understood every word they said. He had them in his power, and he could have ordered their deaths. Instead he played with them, much like a cat plays with a mouse it has caught. He spoke harshly to them and accused them of spying out where Egypt was vulnerable to attack. Amalekite raiders from Canaan were always a threat, so Joseph's suspicions seemed quite real. The brothers maintained their innocence. They told the story of their family: "We're twelve sons of one father. You see ten of us here. One is with his father back in Canaan, and one has died." Joseph had just found out that his father and his little brother Benjamin were alive! He didn't let on, though. He ordered them to prison to await execution unless their youngest brother would come and back up their story. They could send one man back to Canaan to get the boy. No one volunteered. They would rather die in Egypt than have to face their father. Three days later Joseph visited them in prison. He said that he feared God, their God, and didn't feel right about starving their families back in Canaan. Nine of you can go back and take food with you. One of you will stay here in prison. When you come back with your little brother I'll release the imprisoned brother and you can have all the food you want. But if you don't bring him you won't get a single grain! 

Three days in prison had given Jacob's sons time to think. Joseph died in Egypt and now they would die in Egypt. God is punishing them for what they had done so long ago. They didn't know that Joseph could understand them when they talked about all of this. Joseph was overcome with emotion and had to leave the room. When he had composed himself he let everyone but Simeon go and ordered that grain be given to the rest. He also ordered that their money be put back into their sacks. So the nine set out for Canaan with life-saving food for their families. When they stopped for the night one of them opened a bag of grain to fee the animals and found his money! Now they would be branded as thieves! They saw this as another sign of God's judgment. But the worst is yet to come. When they get home they'll have to tell their father what happened. 

Jacob was crushed when he heard the news. Joseph is dead, and now Simeon is as good as dead. There's no way he would allow Benjamin to go back with them. Reuben tried to convince his father that they would take care of Benjamin. He even said that Jacob could kill two of his sons if he didn't bring Benjamin back. But Jacob would have none of it. The thought of losing the last of Rachel's sons was just too much. Sounds a little like how Jacob treated Joseph, doesn't it? Yet this time the sons aren't angry and jealous. 

We'll pick the story up again tomorrow when the food runs out and they have to return.

Thomas Boston (1676-1732) was a Scottish preacher and theologian. He wrote a wonderful book entitled The Crook in the Lot. The title comes from Ecclesiastes 7:13, "Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?" (KJV) God in His sovereignty has ordained our lot, who and where we are and what we have in life. Part of His plan is to throw in "crooks," twists and turns, as we've seen in Joseph's life. These crooks are His means of accomplishing His will in our lives. He wrote, "The truth is, the crook in the lot is the great engine of Providence for making men appear in their true colours, discovering both their ill and their good; and if the grace of God be in them, it will bring it out, and cause it to display itself. It so puts the Christian to his shifts, that however it makes him stagger for awhile, yet it will at length evidence both the reality and the strength of grace in him." That's certainly the case with Joseph. The trials God allowed him to endure tested him and shaped him so that he could be of use to God. The same is true of us. Instead of complaining and thinking that God doesn't love us, let's embrace God's lot, even the crooks. Keep trusting God and rest in his grace.

I leave you with this song, Refiner's Fire. May this be our prayer!