Genesis 42

CHAPTER 42THEME: Jacob sends ten sons to Egypt; Simeon left as hostage; nine brothers return homeThe dramatic incidents in the life of Joseph are beginning to unfold. The pattern of God in using Joseph to preserve the race during the famine and the removal of Jacob and his sons to Egypt begins to emerge in clear detail. When Joseph was back in that dungeon, he couldn’t see all of this. But he believed God. He is a man, who, because of his faith, was always enthusiastic and optimistic. Frankly, I wish my faith would get down far enough into shoe leather so that regardless of what happened, and regardless of what the circumstances are, I could be optimistic.

I tell you, it doesn’t take much rain or many dark clouds to make me less optimistic than I should be. I’m sure that is true of many of us today. Joseph is in a unique position. I think you could almost guess what is going to happen. The famine is over all the earth, and all the earth is coming to Egypt to get grain. Guess who’s coming to dinner! The famine forces Jacob to send his ten sons to Egypt to buy food. Why only ten? Why didn’t he send Benjamin? It would have killed him to have lost Benjamin. Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize Joseph. Why not? Well, there are several reasons. First of all, they thought he was dead; so they were not looking for him at all. They never expected to see him again, but he did expect to see them. Then, we must remember that many years had gone by. He was seventeen when they sold him, and now he is thirty-seven years old, plus however many years the famine has been going on. Let’s say it was one year; so they hadn’t seen him in twenty-one years. He’s almost forty and he is dressed like an Egyptian, speaks and acts like an Egyptian. But we are getting ahead of our story

Genesis 42:1

JACOB SENDS TEN SONS TO EGYPTThey were looking at each other in a doleful way, not knowing where to turn or what to do.

Genesis 42:2

This illustrates faith. A great many people say that faith is so mysterious to them and that they don’t know how to believe. I talked to a man who did not want to believe, but his argument was, “Well, how can I believe?” Notice here how Jacob believed. He heard something: “I have heard that there is corn in Egypt.” He believed it, believed that it would bring life to them. So he acted upon his belief: “Get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.” My friend, that is what saving faith is. Some folk ask, “How can I believe in Jesus?” Can you imagine Jacob standing there before his ten sons and saying, “I’ve heard that there is corn down in Egypt, but how am I going to believe it?” Well, the way to believe it is to act upon it.

The Bible says, “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved …” (Act_16:31). You hear something and you believe it. That is what old Jacob did. That is the way he got corn which brought life to his family. And the way you and I get eternal life is through faith in Christ.

Genesis 42:3

Suppose mischief befalls the other ten boys, then what? Well, for one thing they are older. But if you want to know the truth, it wouldn’t hurt Jacob as much as to lose Benjamin. Benjamin and Joseph were Rachel’s boys, and Rachel was the wife he had deeply loved. And now he sends out all ten and keeps only Benjamin with him.

Genesis 42:5

Now we come to this dramatic moment

Genesis 42:6

Joseph has been watching for them. He knew they would have to come. There had been delegations there from all over the inhabited earth of that day. The famine was worldwide. So he watches, and lo and behold, here come the ten men. They all bow down before him. They got right down on their faces before Joseph. You wonder how he felt. By the way, what do you think of? Here is the literal fulfillment of the dreams of Joseph. Do you remember how he had dreamed as a boy that all the sheaves bowed down to his sheaf? Here it is taking placeall his older brothers are down on their faces before him.

Genesis 42:7

Do you know why he treated them roughly? He is testing them. We will find that he is going to test them all the way through. He is going to ask them some penetrating questions.

Genesis 42:9

Believe me, Joseph is pouring it on

Genesis 42:12

He is trying to get as much information as he can about his family without letting them know who he is. He accuses them of being spies. There are only ten men there before him. They confess that they are really twelve and that one is home with their father. The other “is not” is what they think. In other words, they consider Joseph dead, but there he is standing before them! Now for the third time Joseph accuses them of being spies.

Genesis 42:14

Joseph is attempting to make contact with his youngest brother. These men are really half-brothers of his, but Benjamin is his full-brother, and he wants to see him. This is the way he attempts to accomplish this.

Genesis 42:17

He locked them up in the town bastille. Things look bad for them now, and they wonder what is going to happen.

Genesis 42:18

If there was anything that should have given the brothers an inkling of an idea who Joseph was, this statement was it. He says, “I fear God.” Apparently in that day there were people other than just Jacob and his family who knew God. They knew that the way to God was by sacrifice. However, this sort of thing probably would not have excited the interest of these brethren. Maybe it even made them a little suspicious of this man. At least he gave a testimony for God. I want you to note that Joseph never misses an opportunity to give a testimony for God. Certainly he is giving one here. He always gives God the glory as the One who is directing his life. At least the statement that he fears God should have encouraged the brothers to believe that they would be treated justly at his hand.

Genesis 42:19

These brothers are men, some of them being over fifty years old, and now they find themselves in a real predicament. They are being dealt with by one who fears God, but they are afraid because they don’t know what he is going to do. Joseph makes the pretext of testing them to see whether they are true men, but what he really wants is for his younger brother to come the next time.

Genesis 42:21

What is taking place here is quite interesting. They are speaking in Hebrew, and Joseph can understand them. Joseph had been speaking to them through an interpreter. He didn’t need to, but he did because he is posing as an Egyptian. They are making a real confession of their guilt.

Genesis 42:22

They feel that what is happening to them is the vengeance of God upon them for the way they treated Joseph.

Genesis 42:23

SIMEON LEFT AS HOSTAGEThey say that this evil thing is coming upon them because of the evil they had done to Joseph. They are really repentant now. Joseph hears every bit of it, and he is moved toward them. He would love to walk up to them, throw his arms around each one of them, and call them “brother.” But he dares not do it because he would never get Benjamin there. He gives them a real test now. They must leave one of the brothers, and it is Simeon who is to stay. Joseph was so moved, so emotionally charged by all this that he had to weep. But he goes aside and washes his face; then comes in again as if nothing has happened. I don’t have any idea why they chose Simeon. I take it that while Joseph was gone out of the room, his brothers made the choice for Simeon to stay, and Joseph accepted that choice.

Genesis 42:25

He just couldn’t take their money. So he not only gave them back their payment for the grain, but he gave them food for the trip home.

Genesis 42:26

They feel that this is the judgment of God upon them. Ordinarily it would have been good news and a wonderful thing to have your money returned to you! Let me ask you this: Wouldn’t you like to go down to your favorite supermarket to do your weekend grocery shopping, load up several of those great big carts and buy for your whole family; then wouldn’t you like to open up your grocery sack at home and find that they had given you back all of the money you had paid for the groceries? Do you think that would be bad news to you? Especially, would it worry you if you learned that the grocer was giving this to you as a gift from him? Don’t we all agree that under ordinary circumstances that would be good news? We would actually take it as an encouragement. Well, it wasn’t that for these men. They already feel that they are in hot water with this hard-boiled ruler down there in Egypt who has made it so difficult for them. This only adds to their concern. We may wonder why they didn’t go back to Egypt immediately. What would you have done under the circumstances? I think they feared they would really be in hot water had they gone back. Then this man would accuse them of stealing the money. They are not taking any chances. They are going on home, intending to bring the money back when they return.

Genesis 42:29

NINE BROTHERS RETURN HOMERemember that they have left Simeon down there in Egypt.

Genesis 42:35

They thought it was a trick, of course.

Genesis 42:36

Poor old Jacob! He’s not the cocky individual we once knew, nor is he quite the man of faith that we shall see a little later. But he is growing. He is not bragging now but is very pessimistic. He says, “All these things are against me.” His son, Joseph, would not have said such a thing, but Jacob is saying it. Joseph would have said the same thing that Paul wrote so many years later: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom_8:28). “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ” (Php_1:6).

Genesis 42:37

Jacob’s life was wrapped up in the life of this boy Benjamin. You see, Joseph was his favorite because he was the firstborn of his lovely Rachel. Now Joseph is gone, which is a heartbreak to him. Now he faces the chance that he may lose this other son of Rachel, and he says that if this takes place he will die. Very candidly, he would have. His life was absolutely tied up in the life of Benjamin. He is the son of his right hand. He is the walking stick for Jacob. Jacob leans on him. That is what he has been doing these past years; so Jacob says that he will not let him go down to Egypt. In the meantime, poor Simeon is down there cooling his heels in jail!