Genesis 45 – 46:3 Bible Teaching

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Does God cause things?
Does God allow things?
Does God foresee all things?
Does God let us choose evil and then use it?

Let’s continue – as we left off ending chapter 45 where Judah finally broke in his selfishness and selflessly offered himself up to Joseph as surety for Benjamin. This brings us to chapter 45 – so let’s read it.

Genesis 45.1- 46.3
August 27th 2023
Genesis 45:1 Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.
2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.
4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life
6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:
10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:
11 And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.
12 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.
13 And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.
14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.

16 And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, Joseph’s brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.
17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan;
18 And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.
19 Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.
20 Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.
21 And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.
22 To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.
23 And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way.
24 So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.
25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father,
26 And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not.
27 And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived:
28 And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.

Okay, back to verse 1

Genesis 45:1 Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.

The line, “Joseph could not refrain himself,” indicates a state of mind that said, “He was driven to act,” and the passion can be used to describe the passion moved to even harm themselves.

Very passionate and this makes great sense when we consider all that he has faced over the years and the emotions that went with it.

Twice now Joseph has had to hide his weeping over the scene before Him and at this point he must have in some sense or another felt like he was safe to break down the barriers of disguise.

So, he orders all the Egyptians around him – servants and the like – to leave the room when he made himself known to His brothers.

2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.

We understand the Egyptians in the house hearing him weeping but the house of Pharaoh, too?

Scholars say that the show of emotion was large in that land and adding in a lack of insulation and because of a lack of air conditioning all their houses were open so mourning could literally be heard by people without a few blocks of a residence.

Additionally, “Pharaoh’s house” may describe any servants who belonged to Pharaoh who were used by Joseph in his own residence. Finally, some suggest that Joseph’s residence was very close to Pharaohs and maybe even connected.

3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.

And so we might wonder something – why didn’t Joseph over all of these years – especially since he was right hand man to Pharaoh, ever send word or send for his Father?

The answer? No idea. We could say God prevented it. We could say he feared his brothers – at least when he was younger. We could say that he was angry or spiteful and severed ties in his spite from everything in his youth so as to survive his ordeal.

I know that this is possible because years ago before coming to know the Lord I became pretty good friend with a guy who when I met him was under indictment for some pretty serious felony charges.

We were brought together for a business deal and once that deal fell apart we remained friends.

Well he ultimately got sentenced to a prison sitting in the Nevada desert and before going in I told him I would come out and visit him. He faced three years if memory serves. And he straight up said, don’t.

I asked him why and he said, when he does time (he done time before) he cuts all ties with his life outside because its too painful to see family and friends. So, he talks with nobody.

We’ve never talked again but I looked him up online and he’s living in Palm Springs today and selling people ways to cure themselves through stretching.
END YACKEE

Anyway, the mindset. Perhaps Joseph was hurt – perhaps he had a period of bitterness? Maybe he as so Godly that he never doubted? We really don’t know but we do not need to see him as perfect because he wasn’t- by any means.
Anyway . . . it seems all of that is over (if it ever existed in the man) as we now read (verse 4)

4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.

5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life

Whatever Joseph had experienced and whether he every got bitter angry or resentful, we see Him here in a state of mind of a man who trusts God completely.

A state of mind we hope to obtain as His children too.

Joseph here has obviously not only forgiven his brethren, but he wishes even those who had wronged him to forget the injury they had done, that they might not suffer any more distress over the matter as their responses in the past have shown that they bore the burden of guilt.

Joseph tells them that God sent him forth to preserve the lives of the Nation.

A couple principles. First, Joseph lays the whole thing in the hands of God as a means to alleviate the guilt of his brothers.

We might wonder, “How did God send these brothers forward to do this thing to Joseph?”

James plainly states that, “God cannot be tempted nor does He tempt people to do evil,” so long story short – I suggest “God allowed the brothers to do what they wanted to do and used it for good in the end.”

For his reason Joseph will say in the last chapter of Genesis

Genesis 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

And from this we too can choose to believe that whatever God allows, evil, pain, suffering, injustice – we all have the option to see the allowance as God using it to bring forth some unknown good in the future for others – and even ourselves – or we can see God as unfair, unjust and indifferent to us and our well-being.

I choose the latter in faith though it can admittedly get difficult.

Another thing to note about Joseph is his attitude to not just say I forgive you but to encourage them to healing and peace of mind.

This is the basis on our going to people who have a problem with us, or appear to have been hurt by us and to try and bring them to a place of healing.

This is why Yeshua taught in Matthew 5
23

If you bring a gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother hath a problem with you, ught against thee;
Leave there the gift before the altar, and go your way (ostensibly back to your brother) and first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

It proactive-“peace-keeping and peace making.” It’s keeping the communications clear and open with others as a priority rather than making offerings and rites the priority.

Sometimes it’s to “means to keep the peace even when you are in the right” and is an act of wisdom as Yeshua also says in the very next verse:

Matthew 5:25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

Anyway, Joseph tells the brothers that it was God who sent him forward into Egypt otherwise all the family would have perished due to the famine.

Joseph adds at verse 6

6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.

In other words, He is telling his brothers that only two years of the famine are under their belts but there are five more to come where there should be no more growth “EARING” which sounds like harvesting but because he writes “earing nor harvest” is appears that earing means no ploughing or planting seeds and they say this because of the Anglo-Saxon word, “erian” translated to the Latin, “aro” which means plough.

Joseph restates his point again, saying at verse 7

7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

A seventeenth Benedictine monk called Calmet (who knows if he is correct) says that the term father was used by the Phoenicians, Persians, Arabians, and Romans to distinguish certain officers of state.

In Judges 17:10, Micah says to a young Levite, “Dwell with me, and be unto me a FATHER and a priest.” Somewhere in all of this the term Father, therefore, started to be used. So, Joseph adds.

9 Haste ye, (hurry) and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:
10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:

It is believed that Joseph probably got permission ahead of time to give this land to the Jacob and sons because he would not have been so certain on this without first consulting him.

Goshen was the most easterly province of Lower Egypt, not far from the Arabian Gulf and Jacob went directly to that location when he came into the land of Egypt.

In the next chapter we will read that Jacob stayed in Gosen until Joseph visited hi there. It is also called the land of Rameses in Genesis 47:11.

Without going into all the history, the bottom line item about Goshen is it was considered the most fertile part of Egypt because it gets rain when the rest of the country does not.

Joseph continues with what his brothers should tell his father, saying

11 And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.
12 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.

We remember that Joseph used an interpreter to speak with them when they first came to request corn. Here he seems to be saying, “look and see – my own mouth is speaking Hebrew” as a means to prove to them that He was their brother.

13 And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.
14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
16 And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, “Joseph’s brethren are come:” and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.
17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, “Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan;
18 And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.
19 Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.
20 Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.

Now, as hospitable as it was, we have to remember – that all the way back Genesis 15 beginning at verse 12 we read:

Genesis 15:12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

So, Abraham was told many, many years before that Egypt a land that was not their would take them captive and afflict them four hundred years!

Then we remember another famine in the land back in Genesis 26 where we read

Genesis 26:1 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
2 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:
3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Now I can’t help but wonder if Jacob forgot all of this in the face of the what Egypt offered him during these trying and uncertain times!

And now, in the face of his long-lost son not only being found but being a second in command in Egypt, and Pharaoh (whom he served) extending Jacob every kindness that would lend to his physical security – that he chose to pull up stakes.

I mean verse twenty-one shows how easy it was for them to relocate as it read:

21 And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.

Of course, we know the end of the story and by the time we get to Exodus chapter 1 verse 8 we will read the super telling verse that says

Exodus 1:8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.

But here and now, Egypt is giving them everything! And while God will use all of these circumstances to His good intentions and to create types and pictures for us and the Nation of Israel, the reality remains – God warned Jacob’s father and grandfather do not go to Egypt and this was either ignored or forgotten.

Strangely and paradoxically, Jacob will reach out to God before entering in and God will tell Him that this visit was going to be fine. And you might think – so what gives? We’ll talk about that in a moment.

But for the moment look at what Jacob was facing in the temptation:

It was a time of famine.
His own son long thought dead was there.
He was not only there, he was ruling and over all the food.
Pharaoh himself invited him.
And his own sons went back and sold the picture to their aging father.

And in this picture that we have, at the very foundation, principles of becoming enslaved.

Of allowing trying circumstances to overwhelm our trust in the Living God and to even turn to the immediate solutions to satiate or bring hope, to change our circumstances and give us a new identity.

Was it an earthy opportunity? The same kind as an attractive girl of God being invited to live in Dubai (all expenseses paid) right?

Would it benefit Jacob and sons? No less than a new car would benefit a young believer gifted to him by a mob boss.

Would it solve their problems with food and security? No less than any idol or devil or spirits or substance promise liberty but only bring people into deeper bondage.

Egypt was the promise of ecstasy without the them knowing it would result in addiction; it was financial security without the demands of compound balloon payments; it was deliverance of safety without the presence of living God, and in the end, their leaving the land promised to them and accepting the carts, the food, the fertile land and the worldly promises of ease, would set themselves up for four hundred ensuing years of servile bondage.

I have always wanted to write a book (someday I might) that tells the story of two families – the Riches and the Knots. The Riches are a well to-do, educated, have it all together in mind, soul and action of a community.

Slowly, ever so slowly I would introduce ideas, actions, attitudes that would serve to slowly erode their status until a generation or two later the Riches would represent a family in destitution.

They start in a southern Mansion ranch but their adult grandchildren end up years later on the street, in broke, mentally ill or rotten to the core.

In the second half of the book I would describe the Knots family. When we meet them they are destitute of security or healthy living. They run a lowly pig and radish farm in the south without a barrel to sit on.

But over time and through the living God their wisdom and healthy actions begin to turn the tide, changing things not only for them but for future generations.

It’s a fascinating concept played out right here in the acts of Jacob going to Egypt with his entire family and ostensibly and indirectly turning to what will ultimately lead them into bondage – just as it similar fates are played out in every single persons life capable of making choices on what and who to follow, embrace, worship and to give allegiance.

So back to Joseph where we read (again)

21 And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.

The term wagon appears to show an early use of wheeled vehicles.

22 To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.

23 And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way.

These are prepared dishes according to the Hebrew along with other items. And Jacob was about to be swayed.

24 So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.

The last line is said as advice to keep them unified and loving among each other and to not allow the blame game to rise up as they traveled together.

25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father,
26 And told him, saying, “Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not.

Jacob was stunned by the revelation as if his very heart stopped. It was such stunning news he did not believe them first.

27 And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived:

He lived afresh is the Hebrew.

I happen to think this is really telling – but its my own thinking in the context of the scripture.

Let me reread that passage again:

Israel had almost passed out from learning that his son Joseph was alive, right? And (READY? READY?)

“and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived.”

Wasn’t he renamed Jacob? What is Moses telling us here? Exactly what it says!!

Now, Egypt had the Pyramids around a 1000 years before Jacob, so to some extent they may (and I emphasize MAY) have really had somethings going for themselves materially.

And maybe the carts sent from Egypt were super advanced – leather upholstered, velvet – especially as compared to that Jacob and sons were used to.

So maybe, this passage is saying more than it says.

“and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived.”

I say this because the very same words are used to describe what tempted Eve where it says

Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

I will explain more before we wrap up.
Anyway, after seeing the wagons we read

28 And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.

Now let’s hit the first three verses of 46 because they lend further support for my point

46:1 And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.

It seems that Beer-sheba is mentioned because it a consecrated place where God had appeared to Abraham, (Genesis 21:33) and to Isaac (Genesis 26:23).

Note that Israel is led to go to Beersheba and Israel offered sacrifices to God.

2 And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here am I.”

What do you notice? What sort of stands out?

Jacob was born a sneaking, conniving, heal catcher who used shenanigans to obtain his desires.

He was fearful and materially driven. And over time and trouble the Lord had worked much of this out of him – so we might believe.

But if the scripture is right and real and to be taken seriously, we might ask,

Why is God described as calling to him twice, “Jacob, Jacob” when He himself renamed Him Israel?

I cannot prove this. But it is weird to me that the name is repeated by God Himself in addressing Him and it seems that God does this because Israel was acting now by Jacob’s flesh – hence the repeated name that speaks to his former man.

Could it be, by chance, that YAHAVAH, being YAHAVAH, deals with us in whatever mindset we are in at the time?

See, Abraham was told of the coming 400 years of bondage. And Isaac was told not to go to Egypt. And Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were all promised a land of their own.

But now we have Jacob, whose youngest favorite son who had assumed great power and presumably fame in becoming Pharaoh’s right hand man impressed the old man?

Could it be the carts, and food and fertile land, and his sons new clothes and the silver for Benjamin . . . could it be that Jacob the manipulator made the decision to go to Egypt and God, like He does with other things His creations choose to do of their own will could do nothing to stop Him except tell him everything would ultimately work out for him . . . in the end?

Does this help explain the meaning behind verse three where we will read God himself say

3 “I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:

Was this true? It was?

But could they have become a great nation in some other way?

Don’t know. All I do know is God, in allowing Jacob to go to Egypt, would use 400 years to bring about His expected end – and He let Jacob go for the simple reason . . . he was determined to.

Questions/Comments/Prayer