|
|
Notes on Genesis 42
This is probably similar to, "Why are you
hesitating, get moving."
-
Genesis 42:2 And he said, Behold, I
have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither,
and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.
I'm sure Jacob would rather have provided for
his family himself, but he saw that things were getting desperate and
it was time to move or else his family would begin to starve.
- Genesis 42:3 And Joseph's ten
brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.
- 4 But Benjamin,
Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said,
Lest peradventure mischief befall him.
I wonder if dear old Jacob may have suspected
his sons of doing something to Joseph and was very protective of
Benjamin because of an inner feeling of distrust. He might have made
a lot of mistakes but I doubt if Jacob was stupid. He probably did a
lot of thinking and soul searching during all the years since
Joseph's disappearance.
- Genesis 42:5 And the sons of
Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine
was in the land of Canaan.
- 6 And Joseph was
the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the
people of the land: and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down
themselves before him with their faces to the earth.
This is in fulfillment of Joseph's boyhood
dream.
-
Genesis 42:7 And Joseph saw his
brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them,
and spoke roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come
ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.
I believe Joseph wanted to test his brothers
to see if their hearts were the same as when he dwelt among them. He
wanted to see if they had changed, if they were repentant or were
they still hard-hearted and wicked. This is my speculation.
Egyptian dress was no doubt different than
what the sons of Israel normally dressed. Joseph being a ruler in
Egypt would also be dressed differently. Also, Joseph was older and
probably could look very different without dressing differently. Consider also that in no way could
they have imagined Joseph whom they sold into slavery to have become
a ruler in Egypt. We should never doubt the power and wonders of God
though. Joseph disappeared for years and reappeared. Israel
disappeared for years and then reappeared in 1948. Talk about the
wonders of God. Israel being in their own land again after two
thousand years had to happen in fulfillment of bible prophecy.
Joseph of course knew who they were and
wanted to find out how his father was. I'm sure he longed to see his
father.
- Genesis 42:10 And they said
unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.
- 11 We are all one
man's sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.
- 12 And he said unto
them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
- 13 And they said,
Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the
land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our
father, and one is not.
They assumed Joseph was dead or else had been
lying about it for so many years they begun to believe it themselves
to quiet the nagging of their conscience .
- Genesis 42:14 And Joseph said
unto them, That is it that I spoke unto you, saying, Ye are
spies:
- 15 Hereby ye shall
be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence,
except your youngest brother come hither.
This would enable him to see his brother and
to see if they would defend the younger brother knowing that the
father set his heart on him.
- Genesis 42:16 Send one of you,
and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison,
that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in
you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.
- 17 And he put them
all together into ward three days.
Perhaps this was to give them time to think
and consider their ways. This is probably to let them know he was
serious and cause them to reflect on their behavior years before.
- Genesis 42:18 And Joseph said
unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:
- 19 If ye be true
men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your
prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses:
- 20 But bring your
youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and
ye shall not die. And they did so.
- 21 And they said
one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in
that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we
would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
They knew enough of the law of reaping and
sowing to begin to think all this is because of their sin against
Joseph years before. We see here also the heart of Joseph. He wanted
to see his brother and father but also wanted to provide for them
because of the famine too.
- Genesis 42:22 And Reuben
answered them, saying, Spoke I not unto you, saying, Do not sin
against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold,
also his blood is required.
- 23 And they knew
not that Joseph understood them; for he spoke unto them by an
interpreter.
- 24 And he turned
himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again,
and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him
before their eyes.
Simeon was the one who was cruel in that he
and his brother Levi killed a whole city in vengeance for their
sister. He probably was the main one to show cruelty toward his
brother. Usually those that do evil follow a leader that has a
convincing way to get followers to do his bidding.
- Genesis 42:25 Then Joseph
commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every
man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the
way: and thus did he unto them.
- 26 And they laded
their asses with the corn, and departed thence.
- 27 And as one of
them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he
espied his money; for, behold, it was in his sack's mouth.
- 28 And he said unto
his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my
sack: and their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying
one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us?
They knew that if they were caught with that
money in their sacks if would be considered stealing and that would
be punished by death if they were caught. They couldn't possibly
dream that it was given to them on purpose by Joseph.
- Genesis 42:29 And they came
unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him
all that befell unto them; saying,
- 30 The man, who is
the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us, and took us for spies
of the country.
- 31 And we said unto
him, We are true men; we are no spies:
- 32 We be twelve
brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is
this day with our father in the land of Canaan.
- 33 And the man, the
lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye
are true men; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take
food for the famine of your households, and be gone:
- 34 And bring your
youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no
spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your
brother, and ye shall traffic in the land.
- 35 And it came to
pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's
bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they and their
father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.
- 36 And Jacob their
father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children:
Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin
away: all these things are against me.
We see here a hint that perhaps Jacob
suspected them of harming Joseph for his accused them of bereaving
him of his children. Perhaps they thought they had harmed Simeon.
-
Genesis 42:37 And Reuben spoke unto
his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to
thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee
again.
Reuben of course should have know his father
would never slay his own grandchildren but it is commendable that he
would sacrifice his own sons if he did not return Benjamin safely.
Reuben was the only son to try to save Joseph and deliver him back
to his father back when these things first happened.
-
Genesis 42:38 And he said, My son
shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is
left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye
go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the
grave.
In truth Jacob did not trust his sons in this
matter.
He surely must have loved Rachael to have
preferred her sons to Leah's. Still all this partially is the cause
of his grief in the first place.
God is at work here to bring about restoration
as we see further in the next few chapters. This is one of the most
beautiful stories of love and forgiveness that I see in the bible.
Another one is the stoning of Stephen in the book of Acts and of
course when Jesus said to His Father at His crucifixion: "Father
forgive them, for they know not what they do." DC
Genesis 43
|
|