Joseph & His Brothers

I. Introduction
A. Today we finish Joseph. Next week we go back to James.
B. What a treasure this story is to us, and has been for mankind for almost 4000 years!
C. I was faced with a dilemma this week. The final part of the story begs to be treated as one, but it has literally hundreds of verses in numerous chapters: Genesis 42–50, so it’s too long to read. So, I’m going to read the very end of the story and then summarize the rest, making some explanatory comments along the way.
II. Summary
A. We’ve already covered Genesis 37, 39-41, where, out of jealousy, Joseph’s 10 older brothers sell him to be a slave in Egypt and deceive their father into thinking he was killed by a wild beast.
1. In Egypt the Lord prospers Joseph even as a slave and later as a falsely-convicted prisoner.
2. Amazingly he becomes the second most powerful man in Egypt, and Pharaoh puts him in charge of running the whole country during seven years of plenty and seven years of famine.
B. 42:1-6 The famine in Egypt spreads even to Palestine, so Jacob sends his sons (apart from Benjamin) to Egypt to buy food, because they’ve heard there is food there to buy.
C. 42:7-8 The brothers appear before Joseph, and he recognizes them, but, 21 years later, they don’t recognize him.
D. 42:9-14 Joseph accuses his brothers of being spies, and...
E. 42:15-20 demands they bring back their brother Benjamin to prove they’re telling the truth.
F. 42:21-23 This brings the brothers deep remorse, thinking they’re being repaid for what they did to Joseph. Joseph hears and understands what they’re saying, though they don’t realize this.
G. 42:24 Hearing this causes Joseph to be overcome with emotion, but he doesn’t want to let on to his brothers, so he turns away and weeps. Once he regains his composure, he returns to them. And he orders that Simeon be bound before their eyes.
1. Why Simeon? Reuben was the oldest. So, he had first responsibility to protect Joseph. In v.22 Reuben had vindicated himself when Joseph heard him say to his brothers, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.”
2. You see, Reuben was gone when the brothers sold him to the caravan. He had planned to free Joseph (Gen.37:22-29). Well, if Reuben was absent, then it became incumbent on the next oldest son to protect their brother. That was Simeon. So now it is time for Joseph to test Simeon.
H. 42:25-28 Joseph released the brothers to return to their father with food, but just as they had done long ago, they return without one brother, Simeon – and with demand for Benjamin next time.
I. 42:29-38 The brothers explain to the situation to Jacob, but he adamantly refuses to let Benjamin go.
J. 43:1-14 Eventually Jacob realizes that they are all going to die without more Egyptian food and reluctantly agrees to release Benjamin after Judah guarantees his safe return.
1. Of course, Joseph knew the brothers would have to come back sooner or later.
K. 43:15-17 When the brothers arrive in Egypt, Joseph surprisingly sends them to his home for a meal.
L. 43:18-25 When they express alarm, Joseph’s household manager assures them no harm is coming.
M. 43:26-30 When Joseph comes in, after more than 20 years he finally sees his brother Benjamin again. He excuses himself again to weep in private.
N. 43:31-34 The brothers are stunned to realize that their places at the table are in perfect age order.
O. 44:1-13 Before the brothers leave to return home, Joseph has his cup placed in Benjamin’s sack. Then, after leaving the city, Joseph’s men come after the brothers accusing them of stealing his cup. The cup is found in Benjamin’s sack, so they’re all brought back to face Joseph. He insists only Benjamin will be punished.
P. 44:14-34 At this, Judah falls down before Joseph and begs him to let Benjamin go, explaining in great length how their father will die if they return without Benjamin. He then asks if he might be punished in Benjamin’s place.
1. This is where the story reaches it’s climax; this is where it turns as on a fulcrum.
2. Now at last Joseph has seen enough to know their hearts have changed.
Q. 45:1-4 Unable to hold back, Joseph asks all the Egyptians to leave the room and with loud weeping he reveals himself to his brothers: “I am Joseph!” His brothers were absolutely stunned.
R. 45:5-8 Joseph goes on to assure his brothers that the Lord arranged the whole thing that they all might be saved from the famine.
S. 45:9-15 Joseph then tells his brothers to return to Jacob and bring the whole family to live in Egypt, where he will take care of them.
T. 45:16-24 Jacob gives them many gifts/treasures to bring back to Jacob. Even Pharaoh joins in.
U. 45:25-28 When the brothers return and tell Jacob what happened and show him all the wealth, he is convinced of their report that Joseph is alive in Egypt.
V. 46:1-4 In a vision, God speaks to Jacob and tells him to go ahead and move his family to Egypt.
W. 46:8-27 Jacob’s household moves to Egypt, 70 in all, and settles in the land of Goshen.
X. 46:28-30 Jacob and Joseph finally have an emotional reunion, and Jacob says, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.”
1. We’re never told if Jacob was ever informed about what Joseph’s older brothers had done to him.
Y. 49:33-50:3 Eventually Jacob dies and Joseph and all Egypt mourns over his father.
III. Genesis 50:15–21 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” 16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: 17 ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.” ’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
IV. Reflections on each character at the end of the story
A. Jacob
1. There are many sufferings and also many failures of Jacob reflected in this story. Sufferings:
a. He had rebellious sons, the epitome of which can be seen in the vicious and vengeful slaughter of the city of Shechem after the rape of Dinah (Genesis 34).
b. He lost his beloved Rachel.
c. Then he loses his beloved Joseph, eaten by a wild animal – or so he thinks.
2. The most obvious failure in this story is his favoritism with his children. Probably his favoritism seems to have started when Jacob grew up with a father (Isaac) who favored his twin brother Esau, so Jacob grew up without feeling loved by his father. Then, when he met Rachel, he thought he had found true love and happiness. And it’s great to love your spouse. But it is possible to love your spouse too much. And that’s what it seems Jacob did. Then when Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin, and at that point Jacob transferred his affection to the two sons Rachel bore him: esp. the older one, Joseph.
3. And so, losing Joseph was a terrible loss – it pierced him to the core. Joseph was the one son who really loved him, the one son he could really be proud of, the one son he could truly trust.
4. But it even went farther than that. In Jacob’s mind, Joseph was the one son who could make him happy. And when Joseph dies, or seems to have died, Joseph’s grief begins to border on the pathetic, much like David’s mourning over Absalom. He couldn’t accept reality. It was as if there was no reason for living if Joseph was not alive.
5. Deep sadness is one thing. But when one feels like all his hope and his reason for living are gone, that kind of grief, especially long term, indicates the kind of love Jesus forbids His disciples in Matt.10:37 “Whoever loves father, mother, son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”
6. There is no human being who deserves that place in our hearts, only Jesus.
7. But God’s grace & love for Jacob – in spite of his shortcomings – can be seen in the story as well.
8. God gives him back his sons, including Joseph. God humbles his rebellious sons. They are all reconciled at the end. And they are provided for during the famine. His dismal imaginations don’t come true.
9. And in the end, Jacob sees what we all will one day see: that he should have trusted the Lord.
10. He ate the fruit of his sinful parenting. But God also allowed him in the end to taste the grace of seeing that God was in control of the whole thing for his good and for the good of God’s people.
B. The older brothers
1. It’s clear that their consciences had been bothering them over what they had done to Joseph for 20 years now. God had not allowed them to rest – or to forget. Every time something bad or strange happens to them they say, “God must be punishing us for what we did to Joseph!”
2. And then when they come to Egypt and appear before Joseph, he acts so harsh and strange in dealing with them. It’s all designed to test them, to see if they are the same savage, cruel men they had been 20 years earlier. And eventually Joseph is persuaded that they are not.
3. But the episode is full of irony.
a. They go to buy from the one they had sold.
b. They bow their knees to the one who bowed his knees to them.
c. He who was hated for being a spy now accuses them of being spies.
d. They send him naked to strangers, he sends them stocked with supplies/gifts, to their home/father.
4. In the end, it became evident that they were now ready to subject themselves to the same fate they had subjected Joseph to rather than break their father’s heart again. Love had conquered self.
5. And so Joseph’s doubts about them are resolved, and the dam bursts and he can no longer hold back the flood of forgiving love.
6. In the end the brothers are humbled and stunned – both by the exposure of their vicious secrets and by the forgiveness of their brother Joseph.
7. Their jealous rage had been set off by Joseph’s dream that one day they would bow to him, but now their jealous pride is gone – and they are more than happy to bow to Joseph, the very thought of which they had earlier despised so vehemently.
C. Joseph
1. At the end of the story Joseph has been vindicated, his dream of his brothers bowing to him has been fulfilled. He’s reconciled to his family, especially Jacob & Benjamin. He is the second most powerful man in Egypt. He’s married with two sons. Similar to Job, in spite of all the terrible things which happened to him, he’s actually better off at the end than he was at the beginning.
2. He had been a bit of a stickler for the rules when he was young. He would tell on his brothers whenever they did or said anything wrong, and this is one of the reasons they hated him so much.
3. But now he’s a champion of forgiveness and grace. What happened?
a. He had certainly suffered – and been humbled by his experiences of being a slave, of being falsely accused, of being a prisoner, and even being elevated to a high position.
b. All that had its effect on Joseph. But it seems to me that the thing which changed Joseph most of all was seeing God’s sovereignty in the harsh experiences of his life.
(1) He was sold into slavery, but God was with him in it, arranging for him to be sold to a good & important man, and then to rise to a place of high responsibility in Potiphar’s household.
(2) He was falsely accused and then imprisoned, but God was with him in that as well, and arranged for him to rise to a position of responsibility and leadership in the prison.
(3) And then when he interpreted the cupbearer’s dream accurately, he was disappointed that it did not lead to his release, but two years later it led not only to his release but to his sudden elevation from prisoner to the second-in-command over all the land of Egypt.
c. So, in spite of his misfortune, over and over again he saw God’s hand in it all, and even in the abuse he had experienced at the hands of his brothers.
d. So, after it all he was able to say to his brothers, “It was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me...lord of all Pharaoh’s house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.” – Genesis 45:8
4. And so the story of Jacob becomes like the #1 case study in the Bible of overcoming bitterness, regaining trust once it has been broken.
a. And we need this because bitterness & broken trust are common problems in Christ’s body.
5. You see, often broken trust is a two-party crime. Most of the time it’s not only an offence of one person against another, but also involves sinful hardening/bitterness on the part of the offended party. But the offended party usually sees this as a legitimate response to the offence and not as a problem and a sin in itself. And that’s one of the reasons why these issues are often unresolved.
a. Many people cling to their grudges instead of seeing it as a tumor which should alarm us and concern us. They cherish it and protect it. Why? Well, as I’ve said before, there a big advantage in being bitter: You don’t have to take responsibility for your own unhappiness.
b. An offense which we cling to has become an idol. Gen.50:19 “Am I in the place of God?”
6. The wound Joseph experienced at the hand of his brothers was about as deep as a wound can be, the kind of wound which, normally, people can never let go of.
7. But we see that Joseph was able to overcome it by recognizing God’s sovereignty over the offense in the first place, and, in particular, recognizing God’s good purpose for it in his life and in the lives of his loved ones. We see that at the end of it all Joseph can even be grateful to God for those who have unintentionally helped him achieve the purposes of God. He thinks about the good which has come about from their evil intentions/actions, and his anger toward them dies.
8. This is another way of saying that we can only overcome our wounds and bitternesses when in our view God is the big thing and in comparison the offence is small. We are not going to be able to get past grudges or bitternesses or offences unless in our minds God’s goodness overshadows the sinfulness or malice or thoughtlessness of the offender.
9. Joseph wanted to be reconciled to his brothers & let go of his hurt, but before he was going to be ready to trust them again, he first had to test them to make sure they had changed.
a. First, he treats them a little bit like they had treated him.
(1) Speaking roughly
(2) Rejecting their attempts to dissuade him
(3) Putting one of them in chains
b. Then he engineers the situation to stir up their guilt and make them feel like God is dealing with them over their sin against him.
(1) He puts their money back in their bags.
(2) He insists on them bringing Benjamin back with them.
(3) He sits them in age order at his table.
(4) He plants his cup in Benjamin’s sack.
c. But the final test was to test their allegiance to Benjamin and to Jacob. And when Judah pledges himself to save Benjamin, it finally convinces Joseph that they have changed, and he melts.
10. But on an even deeper level, this case study reflects the gospel, for the gospel tell us that God is the One who has gotten past His offense, and let go of His vengeance toward us.
a. In this story, Joseph – like Jesus – is the savior of the very people who had betrayed him and unjustly persecuted him.
b. They took a small sum for him, but then he gives them great treasures.
c. He is the stone the builders rejected who has become the cornerstone of their people and their future. Ps.118:22-23; Mt.21:42
d. He is the one who, though humbled, was exalted to the right hand of the great king.
e. He is the one who tests the repentance and faith of his people, sometimes even acting cold for a short time even when his heart is bursting with love (e.g. Syro-Phoenician Mt.15:21-28).
f. He is the one who is (figuratively) raised from the dead – much to the shock of his loved ones.
g. And he is the one who reappears to his people and brings them to be with him in paradise.
h. Joseph points forward to a new and greater Joseph, Jesus.
V. Final lessons
A. The Bible is full of surprises and astonishments, as Isaiah 29:14 says, “wonder upon wonder.”
1. This revelation of Joseph to his brothers must have been the shock of the century.
2. They put Joseph in a pit, and here he is on a throne.
3. It’s hard to imagine what they felt. How could an artist depict their faces in a painting?
4. Their whole world is shattered. Everything has been turned on its head.
5. It reminds me of when Saul of Tarsus was confronted by Jesus on the road to Damascus.
6. Or when the angelic choir appeared to the shepherds outside Bethlehem.
7. You know, this is the way it’s going to be when Jesus returns. There won’t be one person who is not blown away on that day. We will all be stunned! Only fools live as though it’s not true.
B. There is a dimension of the story of Joseph which is rarely spoken of. There is a treasure hidden in this story. There is a minor character who turns out to have major importance.
1. In this series we covered Genesis 37 and then skipped to Genesis 39. Well, in Gen.38 there is an R-rated story we didn’t talk about, but in it Joseph’s brother Judah has twin sons through his daughter-in-law Tamar. One of those boys, named Perez, who was one of the 70 who traveled down with Jacob to Egypt at the end of the story. Perez was hungry during the famine – just like the 69 others. His very life was threatened as his little body languished in need of nourishment like all the rest. And like the others his life was saved by Joseph.
2. Nothing else is said in the story of Joseph about Perez except the story of his birth. But we know that God’s eye was upon little Perez in a special way. Why? Because of all the grandchildren of Jacob, Perez is the one through whom Jesus Himself came – our Savior (Lk.3:33, Mt.1:3).
3. When this story was first written down, the human author may have had no idea as to the significance of this Perez. And when Joseph said in Gen.50:20 that “God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive,” he may not have had in mind anyone but the 70 members of Jacob’s family. But the fact is, all of those who were eventually born from those 70 also had their lives spared. And one of those who was eventually born from those 70, and from Perez in particular, was Jesus. And because Jesus was in a sense kept alive by Jacob’s family being spared from the famine in Egypt, all those who are saved by Jesus were in one sense saved by Joseph and by his being sold into slavery and put in prison and interpreting the dream of the cupbearer and the dream of Pharaoh and rising to a position of prominence in Egypt.
4. This story belongs in a series including Sennacherib, the protection of Joash, Queen Esther, King Herod’s slaughter of the innocents. (And think about that connection for a moment – this Joseph was not the last Joseph led by God to Egypt through a dream to protect His precious treasure from the malice of evil men.)
C. After Jacob died, how it grieved Joseph to discover that His brothers did not trust His love for them, but suspected that deep down he cherished anger toward them. He wept over it. How it grieves our Lord when we do the same, when we suspect deep down that He doesn’t really love us.
1. Why did the brothers react in fear? Why did they later doubt Joseph’s love? Probably two things:
a. Their sin against him was so great that they couldn’t believe he could really forgive them.
b. His harsh treatment of them earlier was misinterpreted as punishment, not as testing/discipline performed out of love.
2. They deserved to be put in prison and he could have justly done that. And that’s what they expected. But that’s not what he gave them.
3. Sometimes we struggle with the same thing. Our sin is so great. And sometimes God allows such painful things in our lives. It’s easy to think of Jesus as strict and even harsh instead of loving and compassionate.
4. This is why we need our eyes to be opened to see how wide, how long, how high and how deep is Christ’s love for us (Eph.3:18). And He’s proved His love by giving His life for us on the cross.
5. If this is a struggle for you, read Dane Ortlund’s book, Gentle and Lowly.
6. But listen to this: If you are in Christ, you have been welcomed into the place of God’s forgiveness and kindness and acceptance and warmth. There is no more vengeance, no more disapproval. And one day soon there will be no more barriers, no more discipline, no more distance.
D. Well now we have come to the end of our brief survey of the story of Joseph, this story which teaches us and shows us that in His sovereign goodness God gives to each one of His children the pain & pleasure, toil & rest which, in His infinite wisdom, He deems best (Trinity 676).
1. The up-and-down story ends with an up: everyone’s together, everyone’s happy, everyone’s prospering. It reminds us that in the end, the story of every believers ends with a giant eternal up.
2. However, in terms of earthly life, things continue to be up-and-down. In this world, there are no happily-ever-afters. The story of the people of God thriving in Egypt flows into the story of 400 years of slavery under brutal rulers who have forgotten about Joseph. And then THAT story turns into the glorious story of Israel’s magnificent deliverance at the hands of Moses. And it goes on and on until Jesus returns and creates a new heaven and a new earth. The ups are not the end of the story and the downs are not the end of the story, so we can’t act as though they are. Jesus is the end of the story.