Genesis 43:1-15
READING
43 Now the famine
was severe in the land. 2 And it came to
pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that
their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.”
3 But Judah
spoke to him, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see
my face unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 5 But if you will not send him, we will not go down; for the man
said to us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with
you.’”
6 And Israel
said, “Why did you deal so wrongfully with me as to tell the man
whether you had still another brother?”
7 But they said,
“The man asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is
your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we told him
according to these words. Could we possibly have known that he would say,
‘Bring your brother down’?”
8 Then Judah
said to Israel his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go,
that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. 9 I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him.
If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me
bear the blame forever. 10 For if we had
not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time.”
11 And their
father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some
of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and carry down a present for the
man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and
almonds. 12 Take double money in your hand, and take back in
your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it
was an oversight. 13 Take your
brother also, and arise, go back to the man. 14 And may God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may
release your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!”
15 So the men
took that present and Benjamin, and they took double money in their hand, and
arose and went down to Egypt; and they stood before Joseph.
BOARD –
Do you want a transaction or transparency
with God?
TIMING
TRANSPARENCY
TARGET
TRANSACTION
1-5 Timing
1 Now the famine was severe in the land. 2 And it
came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from
Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.”
3 But Judah spoke to him,
saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless
your brother is with you.’ 4 If you
send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 5 But if
you will not send him, we will
not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your
brother is with you.’”
1 – Famine was still
happening and that means most did not have food – what a blessing that they
had food given to them prior along with the silver that they should have paid
2 – It was when
THEY had need not to save Simeon that brought them back – they thought of
themselves rather than Simeon
3 – 5 – They don’t know him by name – did they even
ask? Notice the issue of the deal not
Simeon or even reputation – it is to again save themselves
· Note that the time was still at hand for the famine as God had told
through Joseph. Notice as well that
Joseph did not pursue them but rather waited.
· Holy Spirit moves where and when he wants
· God allows us to come to Him when we are ready.
· Do you know what you need to do to return to God? What is holding you back? Why are you waiting to return? Most know what to do but do not do it.
6 – 7 Transparency
6 And Israel said, “Why did
you deal so wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you had
still another brother?”
7 But they said, “The man
asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we told him
according to these words. Could we possibly have known that he would say,
‘Bring your brother down’?”
6 – Israel is named and asks now why this happened –
it must have been because of these boys – note who he says is being harmed –
HIM rather than simeon or someone else
7 – The boys argue back that they just answered
honestly
· Have we been caught just telling the truth – arguing that it must be
someone else’s fault or even thinking that this is a bad story rather than one
God has prepared for Good?
· We are like CS Lewis puts it in the author of the story – how stupid
are these guys – because we can see the end – but noting we would likely do the
same thing – focus on ourselves and what we want and making up bad stories
about what God is up to
· So now both of the parties (Jacob/boys) have finally spoken of what
happened in truthful ways – Jacob feels betrayed and blames the boys and the
boys said they were just not thinking about being trapped by Joseph – both
truth –
o
John 4:24 - God is spirit, and those who worship
him must worship in spirit and truth.”
o
Ephesians 4:25
8-10 Target
8 Then Judah said to Israel
his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live
and not die, both we and you and
also our little ones. 9 I myself will be surety
for him; from my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you,
then let me bear the blame forever. 10 For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this
second time.”
8 – the boys could not be trusted to do this but
note now there has to be a trust – we will die if you don’t let me go – and we
must bring the brother or there will be no dealing in grain
9 – Personal blame is now being put on Judah if he
doesn’t bring him back
10 – A dig at all of them for not going sooner
· Judah’s plan in 37 saved Joseph and now is intended to save Simeon –
note that this transaction between Judah and Jacob was based on a much
different offer than that of Reuben in 42:37 – He offered HIMSELF
· Still has feelings against Jacob and the group for not saving Simeon
sooner
11-15 Transaction
11 And their father Israel
said to them, “If it must be
so, then do this: Take some of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and
carry down a present for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and
myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 Take
double money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was
returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. 13 Take
your brother also, and arise, go back to the man. 14 And may
God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release your other
brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!”
15 So the men took that
present and Benjamin, and they took double money in their hand, and arose and
went down to Egypt; and they stood before Joseph.
11 – Take the best items – note there is a famine so
these may have not been great – the rest would have been a significant offering
based on the famine
· What do you try and offer God?
Why don’t we simply be honest in front of Him and do what he asks
simply?
12 – So double the money along with the initial money
– so make up for what was given to them to try and strike the deal – could it
have been an oversight?
· Could what you have been given by God be an oversight?
13 – Finally, after all the haggling and waiting we
get to the one simple thing the ‘man’ asked to be done – take the brother
14 – Hope is either a fierce declaration of a promise
or it is the lowest form of despair – at this point it is definitely lowest
form of despair – not what is happening here -
· When Jacob has nothing else to go with he THEN calls on God – not in
the meeting with the others – not in what happened but now – and THEN says – if all is lost all will be lost –
such HOPE! NOT!!!
· Same as what happened in Esther 4:16
15 – The time of reckoning is ready (we will study
more next week
· How do we do when we stand before God?
o Do we have money?
o Do we have gifts like honey and other items?
o Do we have what God has asked for?
o Did we do it in the timing He
requested or when WE were ready?
·
2 Corinthians 5:10 - For we must all appear before
the tribunal of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the
body, whether good or worthless.
·
Last week we did 1 John
1:8 and 10. This week let’s talk to 1:9
– Who this God is…
Final Questions –
TIMING – What are you waiting for to come back to
Christ? Or even come to Him the first
time?
TRANSPARENCY – Are you being transparent with God
about where you are, what you are struggling with, and what you need?
TARGET – What is your ultimate target? Answer honestly
TRANSACTION – Are you wanting a transaction with
God? What do you have to give Him that
isn’t His already? Is there anything –
YES is the answer but only one thing.
· Temptation
and Tests sometimes Overwhelm our
basic nature – some info from GotQuestions.org:
·
Elsewhere
in Scripture we can read of our trials as that of gold being refined in order
to remove all its impurities (1 Peter 1:7).
·
By
the testing of our faith, God causes us to grow and mature into strong
disciples who truly live by faith in Him, not by what we see (2
Corinthians 5:7).
·
Most
comforting of all, we know that God will never allow us to be tested beyond
what we are able to handle and in all things will provide a way out of the test
(1
Corinthians 10:13).
