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Bro. Bill Nichols
From the famine. He is only interested in getting relief from the famine. But he will get much more as we will see. So here we go. Jacob's 10 brothers went to buy corn in Egypt. Only 10. How many brothers did Joseph have?
He had one more. He had 11. He had Benjamin. But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren. For he said, lest peradventure mischief befall him. That really made them think. It also gives us a quick glimpse into the nature of Joseph.
We're going to take a quick glimpse into the self-assessment of Joseph. How does Jacob view himself? If you'll turn to Genesis 47 verse 8, you'll find the most incredible self-assessment of anyone that I've ever seen.
This is a few... 47 verse 8. Joseph has brought Jacob in front of Pharaoh. And Pharaoh is just astonished at Jacob. And he can't help but mention how old are you? And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, how old art thou?
And Jacob said unto Joseph, the days of my pilgrimage are 130 years. Now that's a pretty substantial lifestyle. Do you know anybody 130 years old? I don't. But here's what... here's how Jacob views that.
Few and evil... few and evil have the days of the years of my life been. And I have not attained unto the days of the life... of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. So he says, compared to my father and my grandfather, I'm a young man.
And not only am I a young man, my days are filled with what? Evil. He began his... career by trying to defraud his brother. He angered his brother so much that his brother tried to kill him and he had to run off to the land of his father's.
Where he met the woman of his dreams and arranged with his uncle to marry her. And he worked seven years and he cheated him and gave him the wrong one. And then he worked seven more. And then he came back.
His life has been eventful. He went into the... back in the land of Canaan and his daughter was... I don't know exactly how to say it. I'm not sure that it was raped. But had a relationship with the king's son.
And he didn't like it and his brothers didn't like it. And they ganged up and killed every man of the kingdom. Jacob's life has been full of evil. And now he's given the... At that time he'd probably been maybe 125, 130, something in that age.
And it's presented to him to take his last son, the only piece he has left of his favorite wife Rachel. Remember, Rachel's already dead. Joseph is, so far as he's concerned, dead. The only piece of Rachel he has left is Benjamin.
And now I'm not going to send Benjamin to Egypt. I'm going to keep him right here in my household. So that's kind of where his mindset was. And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
It was not only the sons of Jacob that came to Egypt seeking salvation from the famine. Who else was it? Among those who came. The sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
So a lot of Canaanites came down to buy corn. But the sons of Israel found more than that. They found not only relief from their physical famine, but they also found relief from their spiritual famine.
And more importantly, both the physical and the spiritual salvation was totally free. They didn't buy a bit of it. Why did they get it? Why were they able to get it? How were they able to get it? How were they able to get the food?
They thought they bought it. I'm talking about Joseph's brothers. Joseph's brothers, how did they get the food? Well, they took food home to the family. How did they get the food that they took home to the family?
They thought they bought it, but Joseph returned their money. It was given to them. And so it was free. They gave it to them. They were able to get it for two reasons. Number one, they were his family.
They got it because they were his family. If anybody else, and other people did ask, if you remember, the people in Egypt, when they ran out of food, what did they do? They had to sell everything. Well, they asked, yes, but they asked, they said, give us some food, and he said, uh-uh, I'm not going to give you anything.
You're going to have to sell your stuff. So Joseph was not about above taking money for the food. Everybody else that came and asked for food paid for it, but not his family. How did they get it? They got it because they were his family.
They got it because they were destined to get it. In Matthew 7, 7, you don't have to go there, but Jesus said, ask and it shall be given you. Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened unto you.
For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh shall it be opened. So that's what Jesus says, but who can ask? And who's going to knock? The same ones. So you've got to kind of keep this in floating around in your mind that they have something, Egypt has something, Joseph has something that everybody wants.
Some people have the ability to come before him and ask for it, and he'll give it to them, and some don't. And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he, it was, that sold to all the people of the land.
And Joseph's brethren came and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the ground. The dream. They don't even know it, but Joseph's dreams became reality. Joseph was indeed the Lord of the harvest.
He was the upright sheave. He was the, in the dream in the field, all the sheaves, he was the one standing up. He was the upright sheave. He was the Lord of the harvest. And what about the brothers? They were the subservient sheaves.
They were the one that was bowing. If you don't remember the dream, I'll read it to you quickly. Verse 30, chapter 37, verse 5. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brethren, and they hated him yet the more.
They didn't like that dream. And he said unto them, Here I pray you this dream, which I have dreamed. For behold, we were binding sheaves in the field. This is a dream of the harvest. And lo, my sheave arose, and also stood upright.
And behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheave. And his brothers said unto him, Shall thou indeed reign over us? Or shall thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams and for his words.
So they didn't like to be told that they're going to be subservient to him. They didn't like to be told that they were going to come before him and bow down and beg from him. They seem, that's right, they're okay with it now.
I just wonder if they had recognized him. Would they have felt the same way? Well, it might have been pride that got in the way and they might just refuse to beg. Or it might have been fear that got in the way and they'd be afraid to beg.
But there was not a really great possibility of recognition. Number one, it's been over 15 years. And people change from the time they're 17 until they're 32. Actually, yeah, that's about right. About 37, I think, because they made him a ruler over the land of Egypt, second to the king, when he was 30.
And they had seven years of prosperity. And this is sometime after the seven years. He'd be sometime around 38. So people change from the time they're 17 until they're 38. Ben wouldn't know that, but Ron and I, we know that.
He also had changed his lifestyle. He didn't look like a Hebrew anymore. What did he look like? He looked like an Egyptian. So a second reason they're not likely to recognize him is because he didn't look like one of them.
You know what they said? They said that Egyptians were allowed to grow beards in time of morning, but otherwise they had to be clean shaven because it was considered to be unclean. That's why they had to shave him when they brought him before the Pharaoh to start with.
And yes, everything from eyebrows to arm hair was shaved. I don't know if he had any, but we know he had eyebrows. We think he did. The third thing is he treated them without a hint of familiarity. He didn't show any sign that he might have known who they were.
And Joseph saw his brethren. We see this in verse 7. And Joseph saw his brethren and he knew them, but he made himself strange to them and spoke roughly to them. And he said unto them, Whence come ye?
And they said, From the land of Canaan, to buy food. And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew him not. So he knew them, but he didn't give any indication that he knew them. And the fourth thing, and I took this from one of the commentators, and I'm just going to say it and then I'm going to comment on it.
The fourth thing is they thought he was dead. Now, here's why they said that. In verse 13, the same chapter, 42. And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, and the sons of one man in the land of Canaan.
And behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not. So they said, Well, maybe they thought he was dead. I'm not so sure about that. How was Joseph the last time they saw him? No, he was on a caravan.
He was on a caravan heading to Egypt with a slave. Now, 30 years, 20 years as a slave might mean that you'd be dead. I don't know. But they couldn't be so certain that he was dead. But they did see him.
They did see their brother taken to Egypt as a slave. And then I've got one more little look ahead in chapter 42, verse 21. Let's go ahead and look down there. And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us, and we would not hear.
Therefore, this distress has come upon us. Now, you didn't get that when we went through the first time. When we went through Joseph's experience with his brothers at the dry well, we didn't get the feeling of his brothers.
All we knew about it then was they sat down, they put him in a well, and they sat down to eat their meal. Not much concern at all. They saw the caravan coming and decided they'd be better off if they sold him rather than just let him die in a well.
That's all we got. We didn't get this idea, we're guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us, and we would not hear. Therefore, this distress has come upon us.
So they may have simply been lying. They may have simply been lying about their brother. They may have just been telling Joseph that their brother was dead because they didn't want to bring all these memories back up.
I'm sorry? That's what they've been telling Jacob for the last 20 years, that their brother had been dead. Maybe they're like so many other liars. They lie so often they forget what they've said. And they just repeated to this new person, which is kind of interesting because the new person was the person that they were lying about.
And Joseph saw his brethren, we're back down back to verse 7, we'll pick back up. And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but he made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them. And he said unto them, Whence come ye?
And they said from the land of Canaan to buy food. And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. And Joseph remembered his dreams, which he dreamed of them. And he said unto them, Ye are spies to see the nakedness of the land.
Ye are come. So he says, You've come to spy off the land and see what our weaknesses are. So Joseph, remembering his boyhood dreams, his brothers bowing down to him, and they were all coming true. And they say unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.
So they feel like they've got to explain a little bit. You ever notice when you're being questioned about something and you've got something to hide? As the person starts questioning you, you wind up telling him more than you meant to.
If you'd just be quiet and let them ask the questions, you could answer the questions and be through. But it's just our nature to try to wiggle away out of it. We talk too much. Well, they're getting ready to talk too much.
We're all one man's son, and we are true men. Thy servants are no spies. That's okay. And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land, ye are come. And they repeat, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan.
And behold, the youngest is this day with her father, and one is not. So they added a little bit to the story, not just they were come from another land to buy corn, but they come from one father. There were twelve of them.
There were twelve brothers. There's ten of us here. One is at home with our father, and one's dead. Well, Joseph was kind of trying to find out what was the status of Benjamin. Benjamin was his full brother.
Benjamin would have been, and Joseph would have known, would have been the next one to serve as the favorite of the father. And he was concerned that the ten brothers might have done with Benjamin like they did with him.
Now that makes sense. And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies. Hereby shall you be proved. By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.
So there's two points for this. Number one, can they deliver that youngest son that they claim is with their father? Or have they sent him away too? So he'll get, if they can bring him, if they can bring Benjamin to Joseph, Joseph can be comfortable that they didn't do with Benjamin what they did with him.
And he'll feel better about them. And he says, Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and you shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in them, or else by the life of Pharaoh you're surely spies.
So he put them all together into the ward three days. I told you last week there's a lot of loose ends in this that I don't have. Here's another one. Why were they in prison for three days? Normally they don't give a number of days without having a reason for it.
The scripture doesn't. If it says three days, there's a reason for it to be three days. Now we know that Jesus was in the earth three days, and I'm thinking that. Noah was in the belly of the whale three days.
There probably is some significance to the three days, but I don't know what it is. The only commentator that said anything about it at all, as I studied this, it gave them three days to reveal their true nature.
And actually to reveal to Joseph their repentance for what they had done. And we'll see that as we come through. That may be all there is to it. It may not be anything significant beyond that, but I just thought I'd lay that out for you as something that was puzzling me.
And he put them all together into ward three days. And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do and live for I fear God. That's a little bit slippery there. What did he tell them? I'm an honest man, but more than that, I fear God.
What God does he fear? He fears their God. And if ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house. So he's changed his rule now. Let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison.
Go ye and carry corn for the famine to your houses. So you can take the corn back, but you'll leave one of your members as a hostage. But bring your youngest brethren to me so that so shall your words be verified and you shall not die.
And so they did. So they agreed to that. Now Joseph is speaking to the brothers through an interpreter. We know that because of what the brothers are going to say in just a second. They didn't realize he could understand everything they said.
Joseph was speaking in Egyptian. The Egyptian translator was translating to them. They were translating back to him, and he was going through that long process. They assumed that the interpreter was necessary for Joseph to understand them.
But it wasn't. And so they were a little bit free with their discussion. And they said one to another, we are very verily guilty concerning our brother. So they know why they're there. They know they're there because they were as penalty for what they've done.
They said one to another, we are verily guilty concerning our brother. In that we saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us and we would not hear. He begged us not to send him, and we wouldn't listen to him.
And therefore this distress has become upon us. So they know, they know. Joseph now knows that they feel guilt about what they did to him. That was important for Joseph to know. Let me ask you a question.
I'm going to ask you about two or three. This is what I do to my students all the time. Do you have to do anything to gain salvation? Well, you can't really, you can't really confess of doing something you shouldn't have done until after you have received the salvation.
Otherwise, it wouldn't have done any good. But now, but now you've received the salvation. Are you called on to confess, to confess? The Holy Spirit urges you to confess. Why should you confess? Does, did Joseph not know what they did?
But he didn't yet. Go ahead. And we know too. God knows too. When we do something wrong, God knows. No, God knew it. God knew it from the beginning. He knew when you did it. And when he, when, when, when they're confessing, even though they're not really confessing to Joseph, that's not the first time Joseph knew it either.
Yeah, now that's a little bit stronger. That's a little bit stronger from Joseph's perspective than it is for God's perspective for us. He knows what's in our heart. We, we need to do our confession, not for him, but for us.
We're the ones that feel the guilt. He knows it. He even knows we're sorry for it. I think he knows we're sorry for it. Just a little bit before we do, when we are doing it and we suddenly say, I ought not be doing this.
God already knew that you were doing it and that you ought not be doing it. And he also knew that you're going to just in about two nanoseconds later, be sorry for it. We can't grow if we don't confess.
We're not, no, I'm, I'm, I just was repeating it. I, I wasn't sure I heard what you said. Yeah, we can't grow. We won't grow. At least that's the, we won't grow unless we confess. So, so what do you say?
How do you, how do you unclog the pipe? No, I think, I think you're, I think you're, I think you're right. Yes, ma 'am. And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Absolutely. The reason is for us, not him.
Now for Joseph and his brothers, part of the reason was, Joseph is, Joseph is not God. He doesn't understand what's on their mind. He needs to find that out. But God is God and he doesn't need that, but you need it.
He doesn't need it, but you need it. Joseph needed it and Joseph's brothers needed it. So, yeah, yeah, now, okay, so now we are, the brothers have been sitting in prison for three days and they are, I'm sure they've talked about it in private and they are saying, what are we doing here?
We came down just to buy some corn and now we're in jail. What did we do wrong? And somebody said, we're here for a reason. We're here because the way we treated our brother. This is the payback. And Reuben answered and said, spake I not unto you?
Do not sin against the child and you would not hear it. Therefore, behold, also his blood is required. Now, what does that mean? His blood is required. His blood is required from whom? All of them. This is a declaration of the death penalty.
In Genesis 9, 6 it says, and surely your bloods, surely your blood of your lives will I require at the hand of every beast will I require it and at the hand of a man at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.
Whosoever sheds man's blood by man shall his blood be shed for in the image of God made he man. So, what are we talking about? They sent him to prison, in their eyes they killed him. And Reuben is saying, when we put him in prison, when we sent him to slavery, his life is now on our hands.
And how are we repaid? We're repaid. His blood will be demanded upon us. So, Reuben is telling them, you know, we're likely to be executed. His blood is required. Who's required? Who requires his blood?
Not the Pharaoh. Okay, I'll accept Joseph, but really it is God that demands that the blood be paid. And they knew not that Joseph understood them for he spoke unto them by an interpreter. Now, it's interesting what he does now.
And he turned himself about from them and wept. Why would he do that? In some sense, it's relief of the... He said earlier that he named one of his sons related to his ability to forget his family. And so now his family is back in front of him and they are showing remorse and they're showing repentance.
And I think it did have an effect on him. At least he turned himself away from them and wept. And when he returned to them again, he communed with them and took from them Simeon and bound him before their eyes.
Why Simeon, sir? No. Reuben said, put him in the well. And his thought was, I'm going to slip around and get him and take him back to his father. Judah said, let's not leave him in the well to die. Let's sell him and turn a buck.
And the rest of them just went along with it. Who was next in line of in age after Reuben? Simeon. So Simeon is the one that should have been in charge when Reuben was gone. Because remember, they put him in a well and Reuben disappeared from the picture.
They sold him. Reuben came back and said, where is he? That's right. Well, in his authority as head of the family, he took the money. Joseph did not keep Reuben as a hostage. The firstborn, the son who should have been in charge.
Instead, he kept Simeon, the oldest brother who had willingly participated in the crime. Remember in Genesis 37, Reuben heard it and he delivered him out of their hands and said, let us not kill him. And Reuben said unto them, shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness and lay no hand upon him.
And then I highlighted it that he might rid himself out of their hands to deliver him to his father again. So Reuben's intent was good, but his operation was not good. He should have taken charge. He was the brother in charge.
He should have taken charge. He should have said, give that kid back his coat. I want to take him back to his father where he belongs. He was the one in charge. He could have done that. They would have followed him.
He should have taken charge and immediately delivered Joseph to his father rather than trying to do it on the sly. It's really hard to be a leader and let everybody else do the leading. If you're going to be the leader, you got to do the leading.
Reuben wanted to be the leader, but he didn't want to take charge. Simon, Simeon, was willing to take charge. And he did. And it came to pass when Joseph was coming to his brethren that they stripped Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colors that was on him, and they took him and cast him in a pit.
And the pit was empty and there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat bread and they lifted up their eyes and they looked and behold a company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh going to carry it down to Egypt.
And Judah said to his brethren, what profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood? So Judah has a better idea. We won't let him die in the pit and claim the animals to guide him. We'll sell him to the Ishmaelites and claim the animals to guide him.
And so that's what they did. So now we're back to Joseph. So he's bound Simeon and he's put him in prison. He's got the other nine brothers there and he commanded to fill their sacks with corn and to restore every man's money into his sack and to give him provision for the way.
And thus did he unto them. And they laden their asses with the corn and departed thence. So they get down down the road and and the animals get hungry and one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the end.
And he aspired his money for behold it was in the sack's mouth. So he opens up the corn to get some the bag to get some corn for his donkey and all of a sudden he sees all of his money is in the mouth of his bag.
And so what does he do? He panics. He goes to his brothers and said my money is restored and lo it is even in my sack and their hearts fell them. And they were afraid saying one unto another what is this that God has done to us.
Now I'd like to comment they don't go check their bags. Only one man's bag has been checked now. Maybe I better go look at mine. But they didn't. But they already know enough to know that something bad is about to happen.
Their guilty conscious and fear of vengeance from God surfaced again in this response to the money which they had purchased the grain being returned and they found in one sack which had been opened. Later they're going to discover all their money was there and their fear will be greatly increased.
And they came into Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that held him saying the man who is the lord of the country spake roughly to us and took us for spies and we said unto him we are true men we are no spies we be twelve brethren the son of our fathers and one is not and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.
Now I'll just go ahead and keep reading. And the man and the lord of the country said unto us hereby shall I know your true men leave one of your brethren here with me and take food for the famine of your households and be gone.
So they told him now that that's where Simeon is. Simeon is in prison in Egypt. And bring your youngest brother unto me then shall I know that you are no spies but you are true men so that I will deliver you your brother and you shall traffic in the land.
And when he and he came to pass that is they emptied their sacks that behold every man's bundle of money was in the sack. And when both they and their father saw the bundles of money they were afraid.
Now I want to paraphrase what Joseph's going to say to them what Jacob's going to say to them. Why did you have to tell him? You told him too much. And Jacob their father said unto them me have ye bereaved of my children.
Joseph is not and Simeon is not and you will take Benjamin away. All these things are against me. You can almost see him counting his days and saying few and evil are the days of my journey. Well yes and no.
He has Simeon in in prison in Egypt with the idea being that they're going to come back and redeem Simeon. They're going to come back but they're not going to come back to redeem Simeon. You see as it goes on.
And Reuben says unto his father slay my two sons if I bring him not to thee and deliver him unto my hand and I will bring him to thee again. So Reuben says I'll go get him. I'll go get Simeon and if I don't get him you can kill my two sons.
Now Jacob doesn't think that's such a good idea. Now instead of just losing three sons he's now going to lose four sons and two grandsons. And so what does Jacob say? And he said my son shall not go down with you.
My son Benjamin will not go down with you for his brother is dead. And he is left alone if mischief befall him by the way in which you go you shall bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave. You've already taken.
I guess he couldn't say that yet. Joseph has already been taken from him. Simeon has already been taken from him. Reuben has said I'll go and if I don't bring him back you can kill my two sons. So that would mean Reuben would be gone and now the two sons were gone.
And Jacob says no we're not going to do any of that. I'm not going to send my son with you. Simeon just had to stay there. And that's the end of this chapter but that's not the end of the story. Do they go eventually go back to Egypt?
Why? They ran out of food. They're starving. They go back to get food and the boys say he won't give us anything if we don't bring Benjamin back and more than that if we don't bring Benjamin back you'll just throw us in jail when we get there.
So necessity makes him send Benjamin. Benjamin doesn't do a thing to get in trouble. But Joseph puts him in a bad spot right off the bat. Joseph is going to call them all together. Joseph's going to call them all together.
He's going to put them at the table and he's going to put twice as much in front of Benjamin as he does everybody else. And he's going to send him back and in his bag is going to be Joseph's own cup that presumably he stole from Joseph.
And so the story will get much more complicated as we go along and much more bright too. From now on from now on the story is going to be bright rather than dark. Yes. Yes. It teaches you that. Your sins will find you out.
You will be. There is penalty to be paid for sin but sin doesn't necessarily mean that you have no chance of salvation. And that's that's the bright part of the story. The wrong did you dismiss this. Oh I see.
There you go. Thank you my friend.