WEEKLY SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON

An international Sunday school lesson commentary

For Sunday September 20, 2020

 

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VICTORIOUS LOVE

(Joseph’s brothers go to Egypt)

(Genesis 42)

 

   Now that Joseph was firmly established as second in command in Egypt, it is time for GOD to incorporate the next part of HIS plan for the newly founded “nation of Israel”, which is, in essence, Jacob’s family. Here, in the midst of a “divinely forecasted famine”, that encompassed the entire area of the Mediterranean, Jacob heard that there was still plenty of grain available, but only in Egypt.

    And so, Jacob sent his ten eldest sons, plus several of his servants to the land of Egypt to purchase enough grain to help ride out the food shortage crisis in Canaan. However, Jacob was not about to risk losing his, now “favorite son”, Benjamin, the last son he had by Rachel, his “favorite wife”, and so he kept him at home with him, while the others went on to Egypt.

    People from all over the Mediterranean world beat a path to Egypt to purchase food grain so that they might survive the famine. And Joseph, the “long lost” favorite son of Jacob, was now in charge of all sales and distribution in Egypt. Joseph could not have possibly imagined, only a few years ago, how the providence of GOD would have steered his life thus far. Up until this point in his life, GOD had allowed him to, first, fall into chattel slavery in Egypt, and then, be able to rise up to lead this most powerful nation in the world at that time, to favorably heroic proportions and respectability among people everywhere.

    This account of Joseph’s life allows us to see how GOD can weave together the histories of millions of individuals, families, communities, and nations, into a single “quilt of dependency” upon each other, and, upon HIM. We all play a part in each other’s lives at one time or the other, and in such times, we have to trust each other and GOD, if we are to survive major crises, that can have a devastating, astronomical impact on humanity.

    When we focus on, listen to, and trusting in GOD, HE can allow us to “see around corners” and be able to plan and prepare ahead of time to meet and overcome whatever barriers the world has to offer. GOD, in HIS OWN brilliant sort of way, hits us HIMSELF, with just the right amount of tests, trials, and challenges that we need in order to build us up, and steer us, to where HE wants us to be, which is, of course, on the best path to our success in overcoming this world.

    When Joseph saw his brothers (v.7), he recognized them immediately; however, his brothers weren’t able to recognize him at all. And so Joseph’s mind flashed back to the dreams that he had had all those years ago, and perhaps feeling just a little bit of leftover bitterness toward his brothers, he decided to test them by handling them a little roughly (giving them a hard time), by falsely accusing them of being spies (Vs.8-12). However, underneath his rough exterior, Joseph still had great love and affection for his older siblings, and he really had no intention whatsoever, of harming either one of them.

    Joseph, by remembering his dreams at this particular time, perceived that GOD was now about to confirm and fulfill the contents of those dreams. And so he quickly devised a scheme that would bring his entire family, especially Benjamin, to Egypt, and subject them under his protection and rule, just as GOD had shown him in those dreams.

    In verse 17, we see Joseph tossing his brothers in prison for what turned out to be three days, probably just to soften them up, so to speak, and not to punish them for past wrongs that they had perpetrated upon him. For this act was not about revenge, but rather, it was about putting them into a position that would make them pliable to his plan to get them to bring his brother Benjamin, and indeed, the entire family to Egypt.

    The brothers, after sitting in prison for a while, were now thinking that Joseph would eventually kill them all, and they were pretty near willing to do anything that he might suggest that they do. After three days, Joseph came to them and told them that he had decided to let them live if they would do as he instructs them to do, however, one of them would have to remain in jail as a hostage to ensure that they would keep their end of the bargain that he was about to offer them (Vs.17-19).

    Joseph’s instructions to his brothers were that they return home (with their grain), and then bring their younger brother, Benjamin, back to Egypt. This, Joseph said, would serve as satisfactory proof to him, that they were not spies. The brothers agreed to Joseph’s terms, and then they spoke among themselves in Hebrew, thinking that Joseph would not understand what they were saying, because he had tricked them into thinking so, by using an interpreter to communicate with them all the while (Vs.21-23).

    Joseph heard his brothers as they were expressing their remorse to each other for doing what they had done to him years ago. They felt that the things that were happening to them now, served as retribution for their past sins against him. Listening to their now repentant attitudes, Joseph became beside himself with grief, mostly because of what he himself was now doing to his brothers. And so he had to excuse himself from the room, as not to allow them to see him crying.

    However, Joseph’s remorseful feelings did not cause him to abort his scheme against his brothers, and he pulled himself together and returned to the room, and he chose Simeon as the one who would remain in prison until the other brothers returned from Canaan with Benjamin. He then ordered his servants to fill his brother’s bags with grain, and he also gave his servants secret instructions to return the money to each of the brother’s bags. In addition, Joseph gave his brothers food enough to sustain them on their journey back home.

    On the way home, when the brothers stopped on the first night of their journey, they discovered that their money that they used to purchase the grain was still in their bags. They were terrified by their findings and felt that now for sure Joseph would have them all killed when they returned to Egypt, and that, poor Simeon was as good as dead, right now!

    When they arrived home, they told their father, Jacob, about all the things that had transpired in Egypt (Vs.27-35). Jacob was very grieved by what he heard from his sons, and he lamented these words, out loud, “You have deprived me of my children! Joseph has disappeared, Simeon is gone, and now you want to take Benjamin too. Everything is going against me!” (v.36) (NLT).

    Just then Rueben, who had ironically failed to prevent the loss of Joseph earlier (Genesis 37:29-30), stepped up and boldly proclaimed to his father, Jacob, that, “You may kill my two sons if I don’t bring Benjamin back to you. I’ll be responsible for him”, he promised (v.37). However, Jacob still refused to let his favorite son, the son of his darling wife, Rachel, go to Egypt in order to save the life of Simeon, his son by his “least favorite wife”, Leah. Stay tuned.

 

A Sunday school lesson by,

Larry D. Alexander

 

 

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