August 11 - Genesis 44 Notes From Class

Genesis 44

READING

44 Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man’s silver in the mouth of his sack. ² Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver for his grain.” And he did as Joseph said.

³ As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys. ⁴ They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, “Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil? ⁵ Isn’t this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.’”
⁶ When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them. ⁷ But they said to him, “Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like that! ⁸ We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found inside the mouths of our sacks. So why would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? ⁹ If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die; and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.”
¹⁰ “Very well, then,” he said, “let it be as you say. Whoever is found to have it will become my slave; the rest of you will be free from blame.”
¹¹ Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. ¹² Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. ¹³ At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.
¹⁴ Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him. ¹⁵ Joseph said to them, “What is this you have done? Don’t you know that a man like me can find things out by divination?”
¹⁶ “What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves—we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup.”
¹⁷ But Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do such a thing! Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back to your father in peace.”
¹⁸ Then Judah went up to him and said: “Pardon your servant, my lord, let me speak a word to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, though you are equal to Pharaoh himself. ¹⁹ My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ ²⁰ And we answered, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young son born to him in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’
²¹ “Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so I can see him for myself.’ ²² And we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father; if he leaves him, his father will die.’ ²³ But you told your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’ ²⁴ When we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said.
²⁵ “Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy a little more food.’ ²⁶ But we said, ‘We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother is with us will we go. We cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’
²⁷ “Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. ²⁸ One of them went away from me, and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” And I have not seen him since. ²⁹ If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery.’
³⁰ “So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father, and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy’s life, ³¹ sees that the boy isn’t there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow. ³² Your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father. I said, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!’
³³ “Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. ³⁴ How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come on my father.”

BOARD –

Revenge or Repentance?

Instigate

Insistence

Investigation

Innocence

 1-2 Instigate

44 Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man’s silver in the mouth of his sack. ² Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver for his grain.” And he did as Joseph said.

1 – Joseph again works through his steward.  He instructs him to ensure they have as much as they could carry.  And yet again he gives them favor when it comes to the silver back.  Notice these verses are the day before they leave

2 – This is again in addition to what they had been given prior.  He was about to uncover a bit of a test for the hearts of the guys. The plan had to be laid out.  Notice that the servant did as Joseph requested. 

·    Do we do as we are told?

·    What if the servant had had other ideas or done it differently?

·    How did Christ fulfill the Father’s wishes?

·    Jeremiah 29:11 – Plans come from the Lord – He already has it underway

·    John 4:34 – Jesus food, sustenance, is from doing the will of the father

·    Luke 22:42 – Jesus to do what the father wanted at all times

3-10 Insistence

³ As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys. ⁴ They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, “Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil? ⁵ Isn’t this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.’”
⁶ When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them. ⁷ But they said to him, “Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like that! ⁸ We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found inside the mouths of our sacks. So why would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? ⁹ If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die; and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.”
¹⁰ “Very well, then,” he said, “let it be as you say. Whoever is found to have it will become my slave; the rest of you will be free from blame.”

·     What had happened before this?   What dinner had they had?  They had be reunited with the brother they had left for dead.

·     They leave and Joseph sends the Steward after them with some general questions on their guilt and if they repaid good with evil.

·      Note that they had had items put in their sacks before.  When they had they believed that God was upon them to repay them for the evil they had done to Joseph.  This time the are asked directly if they repaid evil.

·     They started to recite the good they had done

·     They make a rash promise that whomever has it would die and the rest will become the slaves of this one.

·     Is this like what was to happen to Joseph prior because of sin – one was to be killed for it and the others were slaves to it

·     Notice the slight difference between verse 9 the rash promise and ten the response.  Notice as well, however that the one that knows all (knows it is in Benjamin’s pack) knows what this will mean and who would be in trouble in the first place

o  What did they insist on? 

·     Jeremiah 2:35 – God does not believe your insistence that you are free from sin

·     Proverbs 20:9 – Who can say this?  Why were their hearts still so proud?

·     Romans 3:23 – We should all be sullen with this

11-17 Investigation

¹¹ Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. ¹² Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. ¹³ At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.
¹⁴ Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him. ¹⁵ Joseph said to them, “What is this you have done? Don’t you know that a man like me can find things out by divination?”
¹⁶ “What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves—we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup.”
¹⁷ But Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do such a thing! Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back to your father in peace.”

11 – 13 They are so sure – which they shouldn’t be based on the fact that they had clearly had items in their packs before and that they had blamed that on coincidence after thinking God was punishing them – that they quickly lower the packs.  Notice clearly in 12 that the steward waits to open the last sack of Benjamin until the end – like the feast – oldest to youngest.  The cup is then found – they return to the city.  Tearing clothes is a sign of extreme anguish

14 – 17 Notice that the brothers are now given “Judah and his brothers” title byt the author.  But then notice again the request not to kill the person with the cup.  Joseph determines through all of this a test of the brothers and how they feel about Benjamin.  He had been given the most at the meal and now was to be slave of Joseph.  He wants to see what they are like now – what they are made of.  The plan, executed to perfection, clearly shows the planning and relationship between Joseph and his steward.

We know as the reader that they did not steal the cup.  We are away from the story and clearly know that this is not their guilt nor should they be.  That said we must read this in the general sense, knowing when they said God has uncovered my guilt they certainly know they have sin and guilt for it.  Guilt is good when matched with sin. 

Just as Joseph had been sold into slavery so would Benjamin be.  Joseph set this up to see how the brothers would respond to this test of leaving yet another brother in Egypt while the brothers would go back to their father.

·    Galatians 6:7 – The man will reap what he sows but specifically because God will not be mocked

·    Luke 12:2 – Secrets will be revealed

·    Jeremiah 23:24 – You cannot hide

18-33 Innocence?

¹⁸ Then Judah went up to him and said: “Pardon your servant, my lord, let me speak a word to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, though you are equal to Pharaoh himself. ¹⁹ My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ ²⁰ And we answered, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young son born to him in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’
²¹ “Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so I can see him for myself.’ ²² And we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father; if he leaves him, his father will die.’ ²³ But you told your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’ ²⁴ When we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said.
²⁵ “Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy a little more food.’ ²⁶ But we said, ‘We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother is with us will we go. We cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’
²⁷ “Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. ²⁸ One of them went away from me, and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” And I have not seen him since. ²⁹ If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery.’
³⁰ “So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father, and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy’s life, ³¹ sees that the boy isn’t there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow. ³² Your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father. I said, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!’
³³ “Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. ³⁴ How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come on my father.”

Judah recounts the story for Joseph and for us in detail.  The account given shows that Judah has made a promise to his father and ultimately believes this will kill him not to have Benjamin.  Judah says he will trade places with the boy. 

There is a subtle but important change in Judah retelling this story.  The change comes in how verse 20 is told.  Up to now the story of Joseph was that he was ‘no more’ (ennenu) which doesn’t imply that someone is dead like in Genesis 5:24 when Enoch walked with God and then was ‘no more’ because God took him away.  This finally shows that the original intention of the brother which was to ‘kill’ (lahamito) in 37:18 is what they believed they had done. 

Additionally, note that He recounts in verse 28 the lie that Jacob had to believe.  He couldn’t actually tell what really happened and even in the retelling to show their innocent behavior – Which is what the story is to do to Joseph – show they are just innocent even as they say – we were just trying to do what you wanted!

·    Do we ever through ourselves at God and say ‘we have done what you have asked’ – omitting a major detail along the way?

·    Is our perception that we can get away with these items and God will overlook them?

·    Are you innocent?

o  1 John 1:8 – You cannot claim this!

Final Questions –

For most of those I come across there are three questions that they discuss:

1.  Is God involved

2.  Is God Holy

3.  Can we really know for sure we can go to heaven

These seem to be the crux of every conversation.

The first and the last I will leave for another time:

We can see and believe God is holy however there seems to be question as to if He is vindictive or revengeful (not vengeful, re-vengeful).  Both in scripture but as we back away from our current circumstance we can see that it is not God who is unholy – it is us – the same as these brothers.

So….

God Instigated It…

Is there a plan for redemption that YOU are involved in?  Absolutely – Romans 3:23-35 –

We Insisted we are innocent or had done good things…

Investigation of our lives would show what? – It is more important what God would say rather than our perceptions – yes?

Innocence matters – Are you innocent? 

We HATE it, especially in the United States, when an innocent man is falsely accused and sentenced.   Is this not what Pilate said about Jesus and why we look away from the cross? 

How much would we be appalled if a guilty man were to go free?

·     If God were not Holy He could have sin with Him so all could go to Heaven. 

·     If He were sinful would you want to be with Him for eternity? 

·     If He had sin would He care about sin?  Would He have any need to talk to us about the Bible or commandments, or about righteousness?

I met a woman near the top of Mt. Quandry at around 14,000 ft.  We spoke on the way down about her beliefs.  She was open and honest.  Her Methodism had led her to the ‘fact’ that the bible was just stories with too many errors and that God was loving.  She rejected that there was no specific truth in it.  She now believes that heaven is ‘on earth’ and realistically she has no idea what happens when you die, if anything.

Without specific truth people come to the same conclusion – God is not involved or doesn’t exist, if He does, he isn’t Holy, and at that point there is no need for a savior or even a bible so there is no way to know ANYTHING for sure – HOW SAD!