We Beg Your Pardon, Our Lord

Genesis 43

Welcome! Today we continue our account of Joseph from the book of Genesis. Although we know the story well, I think it helps today to give a recap. Jacob had twelve sons, and we are told about one daughter as well. Jacob’s first four children were with his first wife, Leah; in order, Reuben was the eldest, then Simeon, and then Levi, and then Judah. His second wife, Rachel, remained childless, and so she eventually had children with Jacob through her servant, Bilhah; this resulted in Jacob’s fifth and sixth children, Dan, and Naphtali. Then Leah was jealous, and because she didn’t have any further children during this time, she had children with Jacob through her own servant, Zilpah. The next two children came through Zilpah, numbers seven and eight, and their names were Gad and Asher. Then Jacob’s first wife Leah had two more children of her own, Issachar and Zebulun, and somewhere in there she also gave birth to a daughter, Dinah. Then at long last God enabled Rachel to have children, leading to the last two boys, Joseph, number eleven, and Benjamin, number twelve.

 

We are told that Jacob did not treat his children equally, but instead favored Joseph, leading to the older brothers becoming resentful and jealous of him. Given the long-term behavior of Jacob’s wives over having or being unable to have children, resentment and jealousy seems to have been an ever-present part of the Jacob household, and so, to me, it is not surprising that the children picked up this bad behavior. This fact neither absolves Jacob of his favoritism or the children of their behavior, as sin is sin, and indeed, every party in the Jacob household was guilty before God of their own behavior, just as we are. God does not excuse sin, even when there are contributing factors that lead to the sinful actions. But He has, through Jesus Christ, provided a solution to the problem of our guilt before God: He has taken on Himself the punishment that is due us. By His stripes we are healed, if, by faith, we put our trust in Him.

 

Now, in the Jacob household, this resentment and jealousy ultimately came to an unthinkable action: Joseph’s older brothers made a plan to kill Joseph, and almost did it, except for a last-minute change in plan to sell him to men going to Egypt. The brothers lied to their father about what had happened, leading Jacob to believe that Joseph was killed by a wild beast.

 

Joseph became a slave in Egypt, where he served under a man named Potiphar. The combination of God’s blessing on his work and on his own talents (talents that were themselves of course gifts from God, as all of our talents are) led to him being put in charge of Potiphar’s estate. But Potiphar’s wife wanted to be with Joseph, and Joseph’s appropriate refusal led to her accusing him falsely of attacking her. Potiphar and the court believed her, and so Joseph was sentenced to prison.

 

But in prison, Joseph again served with God’s blessing and his own talents, and eventually, his work was so recognized and appreciated that he became in charge of the prison, only under the warden. Through a series of events involving the miraculous interpretation of dreams, Joseph eventually found himself in the presence of the Pharaoh of Egypt, and after explaining Pharaoh’s dreams, which foretold of seven years of plenty followed by seven years of an unimaginably severe famine, despite being a foreigner, and despite being a prisoner, Joseph was elevated into second only under Pharaoh, responsible for preparing the entire country of Egypt to make able to survive and even thrive through the famine.

 

After seven years of plenty, the famine hit, and after some time, Jacob and his family were out of food. Jacob sent the ten older brothers of Joseph to go to Egypt and exchange money for food. Arriving in Egypt, they met with Joseph, but because so many years had passed, and undoubtedly also because of how Joseph was attired, they did not recognize him at all.

 

We are never given the reason, and perhaps Joseph did not fully understand the reason himself, but Joseph decided to keep his identity secret from his brothers. Thinking about today’s passage this week, I was struck by how often I keep some aspect of my identity secret. I am not saying that it is necessary to always tell people everything about you; indeed, in many cases, it would be inappropriate to do so. But I was thinking specifically about the various times I have built up a relationship with someone but not revealed my relationship with Jesus. A verse that comes to mind is the following:

 

Whoever acknowledges Me before others, I will also acknowledge before My Father in heaven. But whoever disowns Me before others, I will disown before My Father in heaven. – Matthew 10:32-33

 

Now I realize that disowning is not the same thing as choosing to not bring something up, but there are times that one merges into the other. As a young believer, I remember multiple times when in groups, people would make fun of something Christian, and by not speaking up at that moment, there really was no difference to speak of; by remaining silent, I was in fact disowning my relationship with Christ. Why did I do this? Simply because it was somewhat uncomfortable to have people’s opinion of me change. In contrast, the context of the Matthew 10 verse is those who will suffer persecution, potentially severe persecution, for acknowledging Jesus. Indeed, just a few verses earlier, we read:

 

So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. – Matthew 10:26-28a

 

So in that context, yes, I think it is appropriate to feel ashamed when we deny our relationship with Christ, whether implicitly or explicitly, over far more trivial matters.

 

But what about Joseph? I do not believe Joseph denied his relationship with his brothers over fear, at least not over a fear that was rational. But in the same way that we may not intentionally keep our relationship with Jesus hidden at first, and then, when something comes up when we should speak up, we don’t, in part because we simply were surprised at the change in conversation or circumstances, and in the few seconds we had to formulate a response, we hesitated, and then the “naturalness” of the moment was lost – perhaps the same thing happened with Joseph. He could not ever suspect that he would see his family again, and then, in a moment, there they were. And he could never have thought that when they saw him, he would instantly recognize them, but they would not recognize him. And then, he may have realized that this situation gave him a kind of power over his brothers, the power of knowledge. He was now in a position of supreme authority over them, a complete reversal of his situation when he was thrown into the cistern in the desert, but at that moment, he may have felt more like that helpless kid than like the important leader that he now was. It is also quite possible that once that moment occurred, he shrewdly realized that this was an opportunity to test his brothers and see if they had changed. Again, I don’t know if even Joseph fully knew why he declined to reveal himself to his brothers. But Joseph was careful to keep up the act, using interpreters even though he of course could understand them perfectly.

 

Joseph questioned them in detail, learning that his father Jacob and his little brother Benjamin, now all grown up, were alive and well. He then accused them of being spies and held them in custody for three days. Then on the third day he met with them and said that all but one of them could go, with grain in exchange for their payment, but one brother must stay behind until they come back with the younger brother, ostensibly to see if they were telling the truth, but in reality, so that Joseph could see Benjamin, the one brother who had not betrayed him, again. He took Simeon, the second oldest brother, into custody.

 

Joseph received their money and gave them grain, sending them on their way (minus Simeon). But he also secretly had servants put the money back in each of their sacks.  Upon arrival back with Jacob, they explained the situation, and discovering the money, were quite fearful. The brothers wanted to go back with Benjamin, but Jacob refused, fearing that he would lose even more children. Continuing with the account, from Genesis 43:1:

 

Now the famine was still severe in the land. So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little more food.” But Judah said to him, “The man warned us solemnly, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’ If you will send our brother along with us, we will go down and buy food for you. But if you will not send him, we will not go down, because the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’” – Genesis 43:1-5

 

Recall that although Joseph knew, by God’s revelation, that the famine would be severe for seven years. Jacob and his family did not know this. They may have thought that the famine would be a typical one-year kind of thing, and perhaps the grain they had received would have been sufficient in that case. But the famine persisted, so they were once again facing potential starvation.

 

Jacob had previously been firm about not going back to Egypt, because he did not want to lose Benjamin or possibly, all the rest of his sons. But now, they had little choice. Not to get ahead of the story, but notice how God was orchestrating events – even though it looked like God was abandoning them, He in fact was orchestrating something so remarkable that Jacob and his sons would have never believed it if you had told them. Not only would their immediate hunger needs be met, but… well, you will have to wait for future messages to see what would happen. (Or you can read your Bible!) 

 

Israel asked, “Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had another brother?” They replied, “The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family. ‘Is your father still living?’ he asked us. ‘Do you have another brother?’ We simply answered his questions. How were we to know he would say, ‘Bring your brother down here’?” – Genesis 43:6-7

 

I love how the Bible includes this little family squabble. It rings so true, doesn’t it? The topic is different, but it sounds like countless family squabbles that happen every day today. It is the “Blame Game.” When you don’t like how things are turning out, find someone to blame. Sometimes the Game is played when you don’t want to admit that you yourself are the cause of the problems, but other times, such as here, the events have no clear perpetrator; from Jacob’s perspective, all of this, the famine, the leaving behind of Simeon, has simply “happened.” Nobody is really to blame, unless you want to blame God, and nobody wants to go there. Certainly, Jacob will not dare to do this. I will say, though, that the Blame Game is not a good look for Jacob. We need to be careful not to lash out at others when we are frustrated.

 

Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die. I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life. As it is, if we had not delayed, we could have gone and returned twice.” – Genesis 43:8-10

 

Judah, to his credit, moves beyond the Blame Game and proposes a reasonable solution, taking personal responsibility for whatever happens, even though, in reality, the outcome is far from certain, as it depends not only on Judah’s actions, but also on the actions of this powerful man in Egypt who has imprisoned Simeon.

 

Now this translation describes Benjamin as a “boy”. The Hebrew word used here is na’ar. Interestingly, back when Reuben tried to convince his brothers not to harm Joseph, he uses a different word, yeled. Both words refer to young males, but yeled refers to someone who is still acting like a child, whereas na’ar refers to someone who has just now reached the stage where he is acting like an adult. Based on the years that have passed, I think it is likely that Benjamin is indeed far more like a young grown-up adult than he is a “boy.”

 

Note also that Judah is frustrated with his father for not letting him go at once, and making him wait all this time, while Simeon remains imprisoned. You get the strong impression that this discussion has happened many times. It is only now, that the food has run out, that Jacob is finally willing to consider what Judah has wanted to do all along.

 

Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift—a little balm and a little honey, some spices and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds. Take double the amount of silver with you, for you must return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake. Take your brother also and go back to the man at once. And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.” – Genesis 43:11-13

 

Israel/Jacob tells them to bring a wide variety of gifts. Does this sound familiar? Has Jacob done this before? Yes, in his reconciliation with his brother Esau. It worked then, so maybe it will work now. But it is clear that the famine has made the family much poorer. Comparing the variety and quantity of the gifts given back then versus now is actually pretty shocking. Now, at the same time, the journey was probably too long to bring livestock safely, especially in a drought, but it is also likely that Jacob’s flocks are greatly reduced, if not entirely gone, because of the famine.

 

To Jacob’s credit, he remembers the Lord, saying, “And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man.” But then he kind of damages the invocation with what comes across to me as a fatalistic and inappropriate attitude. We saw a similar kind of response in the previous chapter last week when Jacob said, “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!” and “My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow.”

 

What is the problem? There is more than one. When he said “He is the only one left,” my only response is “Ouch.” Jacob is continuing to show extreme favoritism to his two children by Rachel, almost acting as if his other ten sons are not his children at all in comparison. But beyond this, Jacob is interpreting and describing everything only as how it affects him, as to how it makes him feel. I am reminded of Philippians 2:3:

 

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, - Philippians 2:3

 

And it is not only about what you feel, but about what you say. When Jacob says, “As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved,” I would say that this is an example of something better left unsaid. It’s obviously true – his sons know it is true – but saying it, getting the last word to be about how you feel, does nothing but bring down those around you. This kind of behavior, over long periods of time, is mentally and emotionally exhausting for those around them. Those who have had to live with such people know how draining it can be. By God’s grace, let us seek to be the opposite of such people – let us seek to be those who bless and encourage others, bringing them up instead of weighing them down. Continuing the account:  

 

So the men took the gifts and double the amount of silver, and Benjamin also. They hurried down to Egypt and presented themselves to Joseph. When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare a meal; they are to eat with me at noon.” The man did as Joseph told him and took the men to Joseph’s house. Now the men were frightened when they were taken to his house. They thought, “We were brought here because of the silver that was put back into our sacks the first time. He wants to attack us and overpower us and seize us as slaves and take our donkeys.” – Genesis 43:15-18

 

Joseph’s brothers are fearful, and perhaps rightly so. There assumptions about the situation are not unreasonable. But the reality is something else entirely. Joseph, once again, serving as a foreshadowing of Jesus, is showing them a kindness. I am reminded of Revelation 3:20:

 

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. – Revelation 3:20

 

And indeed, the parallel goes deeper. The previous verse is the following:

 

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. – Revelation 3:19

 

Like those who come before Jesus, Joseph’s brothers have some repenting to do. But not for what they think. Yes, they are innocent of the money being in their sacks. But they are guilty of something much worse than theft – the betrayal of their brother, causing him a lifetime of hardship, as well as lying to their father. Although Jacob is responsible for his inappropriate self-centered behavior, he seems somewhat “broken” to me, broken by the false news of the death of Joseph. I wonder how things would have turned out if the brothers had instead told him the truth, repenting of their great misdeeds. The fact that more than a decade has likely passed since those events took place does not lessen or remove the sin. God never forgets, unless He chooses to – which He does when you give your life to Christ. Continuing the account:

 

So they went up to Joseph’s steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. “We beg your pardon, our lord,” they said, “we came down here the first time to buy food. But at the place where we stopped for the night we opened our sacks and each of us found his silver—the exact weight—in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back with us. We have also brought additional silver with us to buy food. We don’t know who put our silver in our sacks.” – Genesis 43:19-22

 

I think it is human nature to be quick come forward to profess our innocence, when we are wrongly accused, or even when there is an appearance of such a situation. Note that Joseph’s brothers have not yet been accused of anything. But human nature is the opposite when it comes to the sin of which we are actually guilty.

 

“It’s all right,” he said. “Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver.” Then he brought Simeon out to them. The steward took the men into Joseph’s house, gave them water to wash their feet and provided fodder for their donkeys. They prepared their gifts for Joseph’s arrival at noon, because they had heard that they were to eat there. – Genesis 43:23-25

 

I like the steward. He reassures them that they are not in any trouble. He brings out Simeon, fulfilling Joseph’s promise to them. He treats them kindly, as honored guests, showing nothing but hospitality. In return, Joseph’s brothers, I can imagine quite nervously, arrange the gifts, trying to make them appear as grand as possible. This is me reading into the text, but if I were to write a drama about this moment, I would have them arguing with each other over the arrangement, each of them barely holding it together.

 

When Joseph came home, they presented to him the gifts they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground. He asked them how they were, and then he said, “How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still living?” They replied, “Your servant our father is still alive and well.” And they bowed down, prostrating themselves before him. – Genesis 43:26-28

 

Joseph arrives and continues his deception. Although not mentioned specifically, he must again be using a translator, pretending not to understand them. He obviously deeply cares for his father Jacob, but he tries to hide it. Yet he must ask them how he is doing, because he so hopes he is still alive.

 

And remember Joseph’s dream, back at the beginning of this series? He dreamt that his brothers would bow down to him. Here we see the dream fulfilled, but ironically, only Joseph understands this. Because his brothers don’t realize his true identity, they don’t realize that they are in fact bowing down to their brother!

 

As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son, he asked, “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there. – Genesis 43:29-30

 

Once again, Joseph is overcome with emotion and goes out to find a place to weep. He was likely closest to Benjamin, as they both had the same mother and Benjamin was the only “little” brother that Joseph had. And now, here he is, except he is all grown up. The shock of this, realizing freshly that Joseph has been deprived of getting to be with Benjamin as he grew up, as he himself grew up, is a big blow. Even when we experience a traumatic event a long time ago, each time we realize a new consequence of that event, we grieve freshly as we mentally add this new realization to the long list of consequences we have already grieved and, if not healed from, at least protected ourselves from through the emotional equivalent of scar tissue.  Seeing a grown-up Benjamin likely also made Joseph again think about how much of his own life was severely altered by his brothers’ betrayals. 

 

After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself, said, “Serve the food.” They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, for that is detestable to Egyptians. The men had been seated before him in the order of their ages, from the firstborn to the youngest; and they looked at each other in astonishment. When portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as anyone else’s. So they feasted and drank freely with him. – Genesis 43:31-34

 

The Egyptians believed that they alone, of all races, came from the gods, and so they refused to eat with anyone who wasn’t an Egyptian. For this reason, they could not eat with Joseph, even though he was, by decree of the Pharaoh, higher rank than they were. As for the brothers, the Egyptians separated them from themselves for the same reason plus for the reason of rank, and for the reason of rank, they also separated Joseph from his brothers. This unwillingness of the Egyptians to eat with other races is confirmed by the ancient historian Herodotus. I find it somewhat ironic that later, at the time of Christ, Jews were now the ones refusing to eat with non-Jews. They did this not out of obedience to the Law of Moses, but instead based on later teachings of rabbis that were supposedly based on the Law. Jesus, in contrast, would meet with anyone, even a Samaritan woman of ill reputation, even people engaging in prostitution, and even lepers and others that the Law might declare unclean.

 

I love how Joseph keeps giving them hints of his identity, but they are oblivious to these hints. He has his brothers seated from oldest to youngest, in order. Because these are all grown men, this would be almost impossible to do by someone who did not already know them intimately. And so, they were astonished, but they didn’t begin to guess at the reason. 

 

And is this a deliberate test, or just an expression of how overjoyed Joseph was to see Benjamin? Benjamin is given five times the food of the others. If it was a test, it was an exceedingly clever one. How would the brothers react to favoritism now? Would they treat Benjamin harshly as they had formerly treated Joseph? Seemingly, they passed the test. Based on the Hebrew words for feasting and “drinking freely,” it seems that they didn’t care at all, and indeed, were happy to receive and share food together.

 

I want point out that, ironically, the unwillingness of the Egyptians to eat with the Israelites may have helped to preserve their line over the next 400 or so years when they lived and multiplied in Egypt. During that time, until they were subjected to slavery, they were left pretty much alone. Not only did this mean that the Egyptians were not “corrupted” by the Israelites, more importantly, it meant that the Israelites were not corrupted – or worse – completely assimilated by the Egyptians. God actually used the Egyptians’ bigotry to help preserve the Israelite people, out of whom would come the Messiah, Jesus.

 

I want to close today by pointing out a few more parallels between Joseph’s account and that of Jesus. In a few moments, we will remember our Lord with the bread and the cup, doing what Jesus in fact taught His disciples to do in remembrance of Him. But in our account, we see Joseph breaking bread with “his” disciples, so to speak, ones who have bowed down to him, ones who are utterly dependent on him for salvation from this famine. In a similar way, we are utterly dependent on our Savior, Jesus, who saves us from the destruction that, because of our sins, we deserve.

 

Joseph’s brothers here are breaking bread with someone they do not recognize, someone who they believe is long gone, likely dead. Something similar happened with Jesus and some of His disciples. The following is not the passage we normally associate with breaking bread, but I think it is quite appropriate today. From Luke 24:

 

Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing Him. He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked Him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” “What things?” He asked. – Luke 24:13-19

 

“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified Him; but we had hoped that He was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find His body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said He was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.” – Luke 24:19-24

 

He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself. – Luke 24:25-27

 

As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if He were going farther. But they urged Him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So He went in to stay with them. – Luke 24:28-29

 

When He was at the table with them, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” – Luke 24:30-32

 

Let’s pray. Lord, may our hearts burn for You now, as we take the bread and the cup in remembrance of You. Help us to remember the cross, to remember the agony You suffered there, bearing the penalty for our sin. But let us also remember that You did not remain on the cross – after You died and were buried, on the third day You rose from the grave, and on that day You met with these disciples and broke bread with them, revealing Yourself to them in a way similar to how Joseph later revealed himself to his brothers. We ask You now to help us to prepare our hearts for You, to partake of the bread and the cup in a “worthy manner,” by which we do not mean in any way that we are worthy, but instead that we remember that even our worthiness comes from You.