We shall continue with
the study of the Book of Genesis this week.
(1) As the brothers “hurried” down to Egypt, Joseph would have ample of time to prepare for their return. How differently did he treat them this time? Why?
(2) How did the brother interpret Joseph’s intention? Why?
(3) How did the steward reply to their admission of having gotten the silver back in their sacks? Why did the steward mention their God and the God of their father? (“It is all right”, literally, is “shalom”.)
(4) I wonder if Simeon asked them, “What took you so long?” Do you think that he expected that his brothers would come back for him?
(5) Which dream of Joseph was now fulfilled?
(6) What was the first question asked by Joseph? Could he forget his father’s household after all? (41:51)
(7) Joseph left home at 17 and was elevated at age 30. The famine now lasted for roughly two years after the seven years of abundance. So Joseph was now approaching 40. How old might Benjamin be when Joseph left home?
(8) This is the second time Joseph withdrew to weep. When was the last time? What impression might you have of Joseph because of his weeping?
(9) The Egyptians knew very well that Joseph was a Hebrew. Why didn’t they change from despising the Hebrews because of him? How would you feel if you were Joseph?
(10) As much as they were discriminated against by the Egyptians, what good might it serve subsequently being that their descendants would dwell in Egypt for the next 430 years?
(11) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
It is interesting that the author of Genesis repeatedly mentioned the fact that the Egyptians detested shepherds, and so, the Hebrews. This is understandable because according to Egyptian history, they were constantly under the threat of nomadic tribes from the east which were far less cultured and sophisticated. Ironically, Pharaoh had now elevated not only one of these nomads, but a slave to rule over them, giving him almost absolute authority. Worse, a choice piece of land would be given to them, albeit they numbered only slightly over 70 people — a very small and insignificant number, so they thought.
However, as much as they submitted to Joseph’s supervision, they did not, because of him, mellow a bit when it came to discrimination against the Hebrews. Why then would God not change their attitude, so that the sons of Israel would have not only a new home for the next 430 years, but a harmonious relationship with the local people? Well, we can see how wise our God is in this matter.
The Egyptians worshipped many gods, and although Joseph was given an Egyptian wife, we can tell that when the Israelites left Egypt after 430 years, they were not tainted by the Egyptian culture and religion. Most Israelites appeared not to have Egyptian wives. This, in itself, was amazing, but it had much to do with the Egyptian’s discrimination against them and their desire not to associate with them socially.
Indeed, all things do work for the good of those who love God and in this case those whom God has chosen to call His own (Rom. 8:28). Time and again in your life and mine, we can testify to similar experiences. We might wonder why although it was clearly God’s guidance that has led us into a situation, and yet not all was well. It is enough that we have the certainty that we are walking according to God’s will, and then we can trust God’s wisdom and intention that all things will definitely work for our good.
(1) Do you think the steward had an inkling of what was going on?
(2) Once out of jealousy, these brothers made lost the favorite son of their father in order to hurt both Joseph and Jacob. What lesson did Joseph want to teach them by detaining Benjamin?
(3) What role did Judah play in this pleading with Joseph?
(4) In what way was Judah a type of Christ?
(5) Through Judah’s pleading, how did Joseph make them face their previous crime against him and his father? (Judah mentioned “father” 14 times in his speech.)
(6) As much as Judah’s pleading was an emotional and touching one, what was the most important piece of information he left out of his account?
(7) Did they realize their sin yet? Have they truly repented yet at this point?
(8) If you were Joseph how might you confront them with their sin which they had yet to mention or acknowledge?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
It is quite remarkable to see the hand of God transforming this dysfunctional family of Jacob through Joseph.
Jacob’s favoritism of Joseph has caused not only jealousy, but has likely led to the godless and violent lifestyle of his sons. If we were Jacob’s neighbors, we would probably forbid our children to be associated with the sons of Jacob. They were simply bad influences. In selling Joseph, I believe, they were not only trying to hurt Joseph, but their father. It was the ultimate payback for his total disregard for their well-being. In other words, there was no love lost between the sons and their father.
But as the story of Joseph progressed, God began to work on their conscience and eventually, they had come to confess their sins (Gen. 42:21). Now, they were not only brought to face their past sin before Joseph, they were put to the ultimate test of true repentance ― would they, once again, forsake their youngest brother against whom they held the same jealousy and hurt their father again?
If they had not repented, this would be the golden opportunity to get rid of Benjamin, because this Egyptian ruler (whom they had no idea was Joseph) held Benjamin alone responsible for the alleged crime of stealing the silver cup. Also, this would really be the ultimate revenge they could deal to his father for all these years of neglect and favoritism.
But they had truly repented. This was why Judah, on behalf of all the brothers, offered themselves as slaves (44:16). What a transformation: The ones who formerly sold their brother as slave, were now willing to be slaves instead.
Furthermore, Judah, in his long speech, mentioned his father 14 times. He was pleading for the sake of his father. What a transformation! The ones who were bent on hurting their father, were now willing to protect their father from further hurt at all costs.
A once dysfunctional family was now gelling as one. If such a dysfunctional family as Jacob’s could, at last, be reconciled, there is hope in Christ for all dysfunctional families, “For He Himself is our peace who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility…” (Eph. 2:14).
(1) Yesterday we considered the question “If you were Joseph how might you confront them with their sin which they had yet to mention or acknowledge?” Did Joseph confront their sin? Why or why not?
(2) Why did Joseph weep so loudly?
(3) Why did he repeat the question, asking if his father was still living?
(4) If you were the brothers, what thought might come to your mind and how would you feel when Joseph said, “I am…the one you sold into Egypt.”?
(5) What did Joseph say that enabled us to know that Joseph had indeed completely forgiven his brothers?
(6) What might be the key for him being able to completely forgive his brothers?
(7) What lessons can you learn about complete forgiveness?
(8) Is there anyone you still hold a grudge against?
(9) What might it take for you to completely forgive that person (or persons)?
(10) Which of Joseph’s word touches you the most? Why?
(11) Which of Joseph’s actions touches you the most? Why?
(12) Why did Joseph have to “convince” his father to come to Egypt?
(13) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
As much as Judah, on behalf of all the brothers, pled their case with Joseph and in the process, manifested their transformation, their repentance was not complete. In front of Joseph, Judah never confessed what they did to him. He would only say, “His brother is dead.” (Gen. 44:20). Their mutual confession in 42:21 was not a direct confession to Joseph, because they thought he would not understand their language. And there is no mention at all in the Bible of their confession to Jacob about what they did to Joseph.
And yet, their awareness of their sin and their acts of repentance in not abandoning Benjamin and in caring for their father were enough for Joseph to completely forgive them. As deep as the hurt was to him, to the point where he wanted to completely wipe out these painful memories of the past, forgetting even his father’s household (41:51), Joseph was able to face this past head-on with a brand new perspective.
Because he was able to turn his focus from himself to God, consider these results:
- He was able to turn from self-pity to pitying those who harmed him — “otherwise, you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute” (45:11).
- He was able to turn from his own agenda to that of God — “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God” (45:8).
- Instead of seeing himself as a victim, he now can see himself as agent for God, even for His plan of salvation — “because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you” (45:5).
And when he told his brothers, “do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here,” I can see that his forgiveness was complete. He even really cared whether his brothers were able to forgive themselves.
During thirteen years of slavery, in addition to being separated from the father who loved him deeply, he was defamed, he was imprisoned without hope of freedom and without hope of returning home. The hurt was deep, the pain was real. As hatred continued to dominate his life, he was the most miserable person imprisoned not only by the jail, but by his own unforgiveness.
His first encounter with his brothers in Egypt was so sudden that perhaps he was not prepared to face the past which he thought he had buried. No one can really bury one’s past. It often surfaces at the most unexpected moment. It is only when we are willing to confront the past head-on and deal with it with total forgiveness that we are truly free. Joseph has successfully dealt with it by — facing it; bringing it before God; making sense of it from God’s angle; focusing on the blessings that have come out of the past; accepting it as from God’s hand; and giving thanks even for the painful past. As a result, he was able to turn from self-pity to pitying those who have offended him. This is the key to complete and genuine forgiveness.
(1) How did Pharaoh greet the news of the arrival of Joseph’s brothers?
(2) In what ways was he extra-gracious to them?
(3) Did you expect Pharaoh’s reaction? Why or why not?
(4) Joseph obviously treated Benjamin far better than the other brothers. Should he do so?
(5) Why did Joseph tell his brothers not to quarrel on the way? What might they be quarreling about?
(6) Do you think the brothers told Jacob how Joseph ended up in Egypt?
(7) Jacob suffered some 22 years of mourning for Joseph. Who really caused him this suffering?
(8) How would you describe the grace of God in such a dysfunctional family?
(9) What is the main message to you today?
As we reflect on how this dysfunctional family of Jacob was gradually taught to learn love and respect for one another, I invite you to reflect on the lyrics of this more contemporary song, the lyrics of which are very meaningful:
Wonderful grace
That gives what I don’t deserve,
Pays me what Christ has earned
And lets me go freeWonderful grace
That gives me the time to change
Washes away the stain
That once covered meAnd all that I have
I lay at the feet
Of the Wonderful Saviour who loves meWonderful love
That held in the face of death
Breathed, in its final breath
Forgiveness for meWonderful love
Whose power can break every chain
Giving us life again
Setting us freeAnd all that I have
I lay at the feet
Of the Wonderful Saviour who loves me
(By John Pantry)
(1) Although Jacob’s name has been changed to Israel, he is still called Jacob most of the time. Here in v. 1, he is called Israel. What might be the significance of his offering of sacrifices to the “God of his father Isaac” at Beersheba at this time? (See Gen. 21:33; 22:19; 26:32-33; 28:10.)
(2) Why did God choose to appear to Israel at this point?
a. What was his fear about?
b. What were the promises of God?
c. In particular, what was the significance of the promise to bring him back?
d. How much would these promises mean to him?
Note:
This was the last appearance of God to the patriarchs. The next time God appeared, He appeared to Moses.
(3) Reflect on the interchanging use of Israel and Jacob within the same verse of 46:5. What is the significant message behind this?
(4) It appears that going to Egypt always conveys a lack of faith for the Israelites in the Bible. What might be the historical and spiritual significance of this God-led journey into Egypt?
(5) If you care to add the numbers given in this passage together, you have to do some manipulations to actually arrive at the number 70. However, biblical scholars in general consider the Bible’s use of this number to portray a sense of completeness. What kinds of completeness might you think of were being portrayed by the entry into Egypt by Jacob’s family? (Note: Stephen, following the Septuagint, made a more literal count of 75 in Acts 7:14.)
(6) What is the essential message of today and how may you apply it in your life?
In the Old Testament, whenever God’s children leave the Promised Land to go to Egypt or seek help from Egypt, it is seen as an act of lack of faith. Abraham left for Egypt because of a famine, and obviously he did so without consulting God. The result was a near disaster and a threat to the promise of God (Gen. 12:10ff). Fearing that Isaac might follow the footsteps of his father, God chose to appear to him and warned him from going into Egypt because of another famine (26:2). He was to “live in the land where I tell you to live.”
Subsequently, in their history, it was the same. Even trying to seek help from Egypt was seen as an act of lack of faith (Isa. 30:2). And yet, the journey into Egypt of Jacob and his family was not only approved by God, it was engineered from start to finish by God. It was Jacob who was reluctant to go (for he might have learned his lesson from both Isaac and Abraham), and it took God’s appearance to him to assure him that it was okay for him to go, and God's words of assurance, “I will surely bring you back again” (Gen. 46:4). In other words, Jacob’s move to Egypt was an act of faith and obedience.
I think the lesson for us is that we should not put God into a box. His ways are higher than ours and so are His thoughts (Isa. 55:9). Therefore we should not judge others so quickly when their action appear to be a faithless or presumptuous act. And for ourselves, of course we should not use “God’s will” as a guise to serve our own agenda. But when we have a clean heart and a genuine conviction that our vision or desire comes from God, we should be courageous enough to step out in faith, although others may not agree with us, and question our intention. William Carey is a good example in this respect. In spite of the mockery of more experienced churchmen, he obeyed God’s call to be a missionary to India.
(1) Why did Jacob send Judah ahead of him? What might it signify?
(2) Joseph might not trust his brothers’ words about his father. Now that he saw him alive with his own eyes, what did he do? What kind of tears might they be for both of them?
(3) Since all shepherds were detestable to the Egyptians, why would Joseph tell Pharaoh about their occupation and why did he make sure the brothers would say the same before Pharaoh?
(4) What might be the advantage of making known their occupation and making sure that they would stay as such to Pharaoh and the Egyptians?
(5) What might be the reason that Pharaoh asked them about their occupation (which Joseph had already anticipated)? Was there any political reason?
(6) In their answer, how did the brothers try to put Pharaoh at ease?
(7) Do you know how long they ended up staying in Egypt? (See Exod. 12:40.)
(8) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
Although the Bible paints a picture of complete trust and harmony between Pharaoh and Joseph, common sense tells us that given the Hebrew background of Joseph and the extremely high profile and power that he had attained, there would necessarily be Egyptian officials in the court waiting for opportunities to attack Joseph with some wrong doing and, in particular, to smear his character. I am sure Joseph was well aware of this political power play. This is why we find Joseph taking great care in selecting only five of the brothers to see Pharaoh and coaching them in detail as to what to say to Pharaoh.
It is also obvious that Joseph was not only well aware of the Egyptian's (including Pharaoh’s) contempt of “all shepherds”, he might also be leery about how Pharaoh might react to the fact that his family’s occupation was that of shepherding. But instead of hiding this fact or using words that could have camouflaged their occupation, he wanted to be absolutely honest with Pharaoh. Moreover, he wanted his brothers not to lie to Pharaoh. Therefore, instead of coaching the brothers to lie, he coached them to tell the truth. He knew how deceptive his brothers could be. He did not want them to lie. He was a man of integrity.
It was exactly owing to this quality, I am sure, that he gained the complete trust of Pharaoh.
(1) Pharaoh was both the ruler and benefactor, yet Jacob blessed him. How does this reflect the Abrahamic Covenant of Genesis 12?
(2) In answer to Pharaoh’s question about his age, Jacob chose to use some rather unusual words. Reflect on the significance of each phrase below (and what they expressed):
a. He referred to his age as “the years of my pilgrimage”.
b. Though he had lived 130 years, he described them as “few".
c. He also spoke of them as “difficult”.
d. They did not equal the years of his fathers.
(3) Following
each of the thoughts expressed by Jacob, how would you answer the question, "How old are you?"?
(4) How different might your answer be from that of Jacob? How so?
(5) When Egypt was still in a severe famine and many Egyptians suffered greatly (“wasted away”), yet Joseph’s family was more than well taken care of.
a. What does this say about God’s providence and grace?
b. How might the average Egyptians look upon these “detestable” Hebrews?
(6) What is the main message to you today?
Hebrews 11 gives us insights into how the patriarchs viewed their lives on earth. As much as they, in general, lived much longer lives than you and I, Hebrews 11 tells us that they, in fact, lived as aliens and strangers on earth, and they all lived with the hope for the eternal city.
As we read the life of Jacob, we tend to exclude him from the Hall of Faith, because of how he lived a good part of his life in deceitfulness, not being a good model for his children. But towards the end of his life, as he was greeted by Pharaoh, surprisingly he expressed the same attitude of life as Abraham and Isaac for he used the word “pilgrimage” twice to describe his life: “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty…do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers” (Gen. 47:9). The word, pilgrimage, has the meaning of being awhile.
How did
Jacob eventually come to embrace such an attitude of life? Perhaps, what he told Pharaoh has already
given all of us a clue.
He described his years as few. A hundred and thirty years is not exactly a short time, not to mention that he still had some years to go before he died. Perhaps, Jacob was not talking about his physical years of life on earth; rather he was referring to the number of years that were truly meaningful, years that truly contributed to the purpose of God in his life, and years that truly counted for the Kingdom of God in which he would receive his reward.
Yes, if this was what he referred to, then we could not help but agree with him.
He also described his years as difficult. Again, we would agree to this, except for those years of his youth: Then he was pampered and carefree; he lived under the godly example of his father Isaac who was totally loyal to his wife, which, in those days, was rare; and by his own admission, he witnessed a father who feared the Lord (Gen. 31:42). But afterwards he cheated his brother of the blessing from his father, everything from then on went downhill.
He fled and lived under the manipulation of his uncle, Laban, for some twenty years (31:38). Those were difficult years in that he almost lived like a slave in status. His uncle basically owned him.
Yes, as he eventually cheated his way out of this manipulation of Laban, he lived as a free man with significant wealth. But wealth did not bring peace. His own life’s example, his inability to discipline his children and his blatant uncaring attitude toward all his children (except for those born of Rachel) contributed to a family of strife, of violence and of immorality. There was no peace to speak of in his family and he only had himself to blame. He paid dearly for his mistakes with the loss of Joseph, the one he loved most. For some 22 years, he lived in mourning over the assumed loss of Joseph. Yes, most of his life was miserable, without peace and dominated only by strife. Were it not for Joseph and the “severe mercies” of God, his life would have continued to be difficult. But by God’s grace, through Joseph, his sons had repented and even learned to care about him. Even more importantly, through Joseph and the grace of God, he finally had come to trust in God and looked forward to the heavenly city. He now recognized this life as a pilgrimage.
I guess, it is true that it is better late than never!