Genesis 43
The Second Journey to Egypt
1 Now the famine was still severe in the land. 2 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.”
3 But Judah said to him, “The man warned us solemnly, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’
4 If you will send our brother along with us, we will go down and buy food for you. 5 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.’”
6 Israel asked, “Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had another brother?”
7 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’?”
8 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. 9 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. 10 As it is, if we had not delayed, we could have gone and returned twice.”
11 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. 12 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. 13 Take your brother also and go back to the man at once. 14 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.”
15 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. 16 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.”
17 The man did as Joseph told him and took the men to Joseph’s house. 18 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.”
19 So they went up to Joseph’s steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. 20 “We beg your pardon, our lord,” they said, “we came down here the first time to buy food. 21 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. 22 We have also brought additional silver with us to buy food. We don’t know who put our silver in our sacks.”
23 “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.
24 The steward took the men into Joseph’s house, gave them water to wash their feet and provided fodder for their donkeys. 25 They prepared their gifts for Joseph’s arrival at noon, because they had heard that they were to eat there.
26 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. 27 He asked them how they were, and then he said, “How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still living?”
28 They replied, “Your servant our father is still alive and well.” And they bowed down, prostrating themselves before him.
29 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.” 30 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.
31 After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself, said, “Serve the food.”
32 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. 33 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. 34 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 (NIV)
In Genesis 42, Israel’s sons went to Egypt to get food since there was famine in their land. They met Joseph after so many years of being apart and they didn’t recognize him but he recognized them.
Now, in Genesis 43, the men are back to Egypt to get more food. Unlike the first encounter with Joseph, this encounter was more festive. Joseph saw his little brother Benjamin and was deeply moved in his heart.
Lessons from Genesis 43
- God does not author hard times but He gives us the tools to survive and overcome hardships: Israel (formerly known as Jacob) was a blessed man. He had the Abrahamic blessing upon his life but yet he experienced the bite of famine just like the other Canaanites. This meant he had to be wise and use what he had (animals, silver, gold, etc) to get what it was that he needed (food).
- Refusing to apply wisdom and spring into action will inevitably result in extended periods of hardship: Many Christians remain in hardship because they just sit around with crossed arms waiting for God to do everything. No good parent does absolutely everything for their capable children, instead they teach them and instill them with a sense of independence so they can live their own lives and make their own decisions.
- Your knowing what to do should be followed by actual actions (doing what needs to be done) if you want to produce good outcomes.
- Watch what you say: in Genesis 43 verse 6, Israel is seen questioning his sons about why they had to mention Benjamin to the Egyptian governor. Had they not said anything, Israel wouldn’t have had to go through that stress of potentially losing yet another son. Oversharing at times could lead you into a mountain of troubles.
Loose lips sink ships
American idiom
- There is a way of explaining things that puts skeptical minds at ease: Misunderstandings are often resolved through proper communication but demeaning talk causes arguments and escalates disagreements into fights. (Note how Israel’s sons explained things to him and brought him some reassurance about Benjamin’s safety in Genesis 43:7-10).
- In your times of need, never forget what you have to offer: verse 11 of Genesis 43 – Israel urges his sons to take the best products of their land back to Egypt as gifts. He recognized that even though they were down on food, they still had some things of value in their land that they could use to make a good impression. You never have nothing to offer.
- Letting God do His part: After Israel had done his part (offered products of their land as gifts, provided silver, given permission to take Benjamin), he acknowledged that God also had a role to play for the success of his sons’ journey (Genesis 43:14).
- A guilty conscience makes you restless and fearful: A person who does no wrong lives at peace but when you do shady things you’ll be haunted by the worst possible scenarios just like Joseph’s brothers in Genesis 43:18. They could have turned around and returned with the silver when they first found it in their bags (Genesis 42) but instead they chose to take it home and now they feared for their lives.
- One good person can open floodgates of favour for others: Genesis 43 verse 16 – Joseph saw Benjamin with his other brothers and ordered for a festive meal to be made for all of them. Benjamin was Joseph’s mother (Rachel’s) other son and he had not been involved in mistreating Joseph all those years ago (Genesis 37).
- We have a choice to make about how we let issues of the past affect our present: After Joseph saw his brothers a second time, he chose to eat and feast with them instead of letting the moment be clouded by memories of what he had endured because of them. Choosing to forgive and move on is not always easy but it’s always so liberating.
Reflection
- Do you blame God for the hardships you face in life?
- How can you apply the lessons from Genesis 43 to your life?
Further reading
- 2 Peter 1:3 [His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.]
Prayer
Father, you have given me everything I require to live a happy godly life. Help me grow in wisdom that I may make the right moves in faith towards the fulfillment of my destiny in you. Amen.
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