Genesis 43:1

In the preceding chapters of Genesis the Lord initiated a way to cause the children of Israel to move to the land of Egypt. God used a great famine to accomplish this. In reading about that catastrophe and its results, we can also notice that it is a good example how God uses all things, even things that seem to be bad, to bring about His perfect will. The Bible says in Genesis 43:1-15, “And the famine was sore in the land. And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food. And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food: But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother? And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down? And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones. I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever: For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time. And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds: And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight: Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man: And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved. And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.”

In Genesis 43:14 Jacob said, “If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.” To be “bereaved” of children speaks of someone who has lost children, and therefore suffers a type of loneliness that may very well be one of the greatest of human sufferings. To be bereaved of children means to suffer for the loved ones who are dead or gone, and who may not be seen again. Many have suffered this great of suffering. God Himself suffered when His Son Jesus died on the cross of Calvary for our sins. Jesus cried out from the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Oh how much the Heavenly Father must have been bereaved when He saw His Son on the cross, suffering because of the cruelty of people. Those who are bereaved of their children may know just a little bit what the Father suffered when Jesus died. And they may have an idea of what Jacob suffered when he thought he had lost his son Joseph or when Jacob thought that he might lose Benjamin.

It is important to notice that in the same verse where Jacob mentioned his bereavement for his children, Jacob also made it clear that he continued to trust in the Lord. Jacob said in Genesis 43:14, “And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin.” Jacob called the Lord “God Almighty.” Those who live by faith trust in the almighty power of God: the fact that God can do anything. There is a reason for the sufferings that God permits, even though we do not fully understand the reason. Jacob also mentioned God’s “mercy.” God is merciful, which means that He does not punish those who deserve to be punished, when such individuals are blessed with His mercy. Every human being needs the mercy of God, because every human being is a sinner. Jacob understood that he was a sinner, and therefore Jacob appreciated God’s mercy toward him.

The Bible says in Genesis 43:16-34, “And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon. And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house. And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses. And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they communed with him at the door of the house, And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food: And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand. And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks. And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them. And the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender. And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there. And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth. And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive? And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son. And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there. And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread. And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians. And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another. And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.”

These verses show us that Joseph had a compassionate and loving heart. It says in Genesis 43:30, “for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.” Perhaps Joseph was driven to tears by the memories of what he had endured since his brothers sold him into slavery, by the joy of finally being with all his brothers again, and perhaps by the compassion for how much his brothers had suffered from their guilty conscience. Joseph wept. He was not angry. He did not desire revenge. He wept. The compassion that Joseph showed in this situation reminds us of the compassion that Jesus has as He looks at a lost and unbelieving world. When Jesus was at the burial of Lazarus, He wept. It says in John 11:32-36, “Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!” The compassion of Jesus for people and the terrible situation that they sometimes have created for themselves is also seen in Luke 13:34 when Jesus considered the city of Jerusalem that had largely rejected Him. Jesus said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!”

Joseph continued to give orders concerning his brothers before they returned to Cacaan. The Bible says in Genesis 44:1-14, “And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth. And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses. And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good? Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing. And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words. And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing: Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold? With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen. And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words; he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless. Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack. And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city. And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.”

Notice carefully Genesis 44:14. It says, “And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.” Joseph had this very event revealed to him in a dream from the Lord when Joseph was only a teenager. It says in Genesis 37:6-8, Joseph “said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.” When Joseph was a teenager, his brothers had been angry with him and jealous about the dreams the Lord gave Joseph. But now they willingly bowed down to Joseph, and they submitted to the plans that the Lord had for them: thus doing exactly what the Lord said they would do. The Lord has His ways of bringing people to the place where they are ready to do His will. This incident of Joseph’s brothers finally bowing down before him is not unlike what will happen at the Judgment Seat of Christ. In the world today everyone is invited to come to Jesus and bow before Him, and believe in Him, and call upon His name. Many resist and refuse to do so. But at the Judgment everyone will finally bow before the Lord Jesus Christ because He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. The Bible says in Philippians 2:9-11, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” It says in Revelation 20:11-15, “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

The judgment is coming. Wise is the person who turns to Jesus before it is too late.

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