Jacob’s life on earth is nearing its conclusion… in Egypt. In Egypt? Reading on in our series Joseph: A Life With Many Colors,  

Genesis 48:1 Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him.  2 When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed. 3 Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me 4 and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers. I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’

5 “Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. 6 Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers.

7 As I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).8 When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, “Who are these?” 9 “They are the sons God has given me here,” Joseph said to his father. Then Israel said, “Bring them to me so I may bless them.”10 Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them. 11 Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too.”

Jacob had left behind the grave of his dead but beloved wife.  Leaving what was dead, he was blessed to see not just Joseph, but his grandchildren through Joseph.  Double blessing.

Genesis 48:12 Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s knees and bowed down with his face to the ground.  13 And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them close to him.  14 But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head, though he was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.15 Then he blessed Joseph and said, “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,16 the Angel who has delivered me from all harm– may he bless these boys. May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they increase greatly on the earth.”

And now history repeats itself. 
The younger one greater than the firstborn, just like with Jacob and Esau (Genesis 27). 

17 When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.  18 Joseph said to him, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.” 

20 He blessed them that day and said, “In your name will Israel pronounce this blessing: ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh. ‘” So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.  21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers.  22 And to you I give one more ridge of land than to your brothers, the ridge I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”

Think about it:

• Why would God break with tradition twice, placing the younger ones ahead of the older in terms of blessing?  What does that say about how God does things?
• Read Hebrews 11:20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. 21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
• Jacob and Rebekah used trickery to have the younger blessed.  Jacob and Joseph were very much aware of what was happening.  How does God use our circumstances, our personalities, and even our flaws to accomplish His will?
• Read Romans 9:8-15 and think about God’s purposes.  In particular read verses 11-16. 11 “Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad– in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who calls– she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” 14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.”

As we continue our series Joseph: A Life With Many Colors, Jacob’s family is prospering even in the famine. 

Genesis 47:27 Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.

Genesis 47:28 Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven.  29 When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.” “I will do as you say,” he said. 31 “Swear to me,” he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

Think about it:

• God had promised that all nations would be blessed and that included Jacob’s family.  But they were in Goshen.  In what ways does the fruitfulness of Israel display that blessing would not be confined to the national boundaries of Canaan?
• Recall Genesis 46:1 “So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2 And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!” “Here I am,” he replied. 3 “I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. 4 I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.”
• God was with Jacob even in Egypt.  That was the place specified for God’s making Jacob a great nation.   What might this say about God’s being with us, even in unpleasant places or in our present difficulties? 
• Egypt?  The place of God’s work of blessing Israel?  Read Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” How does this remind us of the sovereignty of God, our limited vision, and our tiny comprehension of what God is doing?
• God had promised that Joseph would close Jacob’s eyes after death, and Jacob would be brought back to be buried with his fathers and his beloved Rachel.  Why did Jacob communicate this to Joseph?

Genesis 47:7 Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed Pharaoh, 8 Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?” 9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.” 10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence.

Blessing from beginning to end, Jacob was fulfilling the covenant God made with his grandfather, Abraham: “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3).  Jacob was becoming a great nation and all peoples would be blessed.  He just didn’t know it because he was living in the flow of history, and it would be many generations before its complete fulfillment.   

To become that great nation would require wisdom, prosperity, and diligent work.
As we continue our series Joseph: A Life With Many Colors,

Genesis 47:11 So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh directed. 12 Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their children.

Now Pharaoh would be blessed in practice, not just words.  It was time to implement Joseph’s plan–the one laid out way back in the days of dream interpretation.

Genesis 47:13 There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. 14 Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace.

15 When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is all gone.” 16 “Then bring your livestock,” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys. And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.

18 When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we perish before your eyes– we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.”

 20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, 21 and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 However, he did not buy the land of the priests, because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.

 23 Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground. 24 But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.”

 25 “You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.”

 26 So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt– still in force today– that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s.

Think about it:

• Does Joseph’s plan seem extreme to you…and unfavorable to the people? What might have happened if Joseph’s plan weren’t implemented? 
• Do hard times call for austerity measures, a tightening of the belt, etc.?  In what ways do hard times put things in perspective?
• The people were grateful that their lives had been saved by the plan.  The tax of one fifth and the rest of the crops belonging to people for food, for seed, and for posterity was seen in perspective. Could Pharaoh have just confiscated everything?  Did he have that kind of power?
• In that context, how was selling grain to the people an act of mercy?
• Read Zechariah 8:13 “Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curse among the nations, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.”  Why is suffering necessary for deliverance?

Joseph’s whole family has just descended upon Egypt and in our series Joseph: A Life With Many Colors, he’s about to share some wisdom with them, paving the way…out of the way.  There’s no way Pharaoh was going to have a bunch of shepherds hanging around.  Ewwww….

Genesis 46:31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and speak to Pharaoh and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household, who were living in the land of Canaan, have come to me.   32 The men are shepherds; they tend livestock, and they have brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own.’

33 When Pharaoh calls you in and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 you should answer, ‘Your servants have tended livestock from our boyhood on, just as our fathers did.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the region of Goshen, for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians.”

Genesis 47:1 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.”  2 He chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.

3 Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?” “Your servants are shepherds,” they replied to Pharaoh, “just as our fathers were.”   4 They also said to him, “We have come to live here for a while, because the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants’ flocks have no pasture. So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.”

 5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you, 6 and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock.”

Worked perfectly.

Think about it:

• How did Pharaoh’s prejudice serve to bless Jacob and his whole family?
• Goshen might have been the best part of the land for livestock but no Egyptian worth his scarab wanted to be there…because that’s where the livestock was.  And sheep.  And shepherds.  Shepherds were detestable. Given that there was presently a famine, how might that land have seemed expendable to Pharaoh?
• Do you ever look at details of disasters, prejudice, disfavor, or rejection and find yourself amazed that God can bring good things out of it?
• Read Isaiah 61:1-3. How did God give Jacob and his family “beauty for ashes” and use hardship to accomplish it?

Joseph has made himself known to his brothers and now Pharaoh knows too.  And Pharaoh gives the best of the best in honor of Joseph.  As we continue our series Joseph: A Life With Many Colors,

Genesis 45:17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan, 18 and bring your father and your families back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you can enjoy the fat of the land.’ 19 “You are also directed to tell them, ‘Do this: Take some carts from Egypt for your children and your wives, and get your father and come. 20 Never mind about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours.'”

Cart after cart of provisions.  New clothing.   
And to Benjamin, Joseph gave “three hundred shekels of silver and five sets of clothes.”

Genesis 45:24 Then he sent his brothers away, and as they were leaving he said to them, “Don’t quarrel on the way!” 

The finally arrived in the land of Canaan to their father’s home
and shared the good news with Jacob. 

Genesis 45:26 They told him, “Joseph is still alive! In fact, he is ruler of all Egypt.” Jacob was stunned; he did not believe them. 

Sometimes a little convincing is necessary. 
They shared the full story as a show and tell. 

Genesis 45:27 But when they told him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.  28 And Israel said, “I’m convinced! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

It was no small endeavor to bring everyone as Pharaoh had commanded.

Genesis 46:26 All those who went to Egypt with Jacob– those who were his direct descendants, not counting his sons’ wives– numbered sixty-six persons.  27 With the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family, which went to Egypt, were seventy in all. 28 Now Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When they arrived in the region of Goshen, 29 Joseph had his chariot made ready and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as Joseph appeared before him, he threw his arms around his father and wept for a long time. 30 Israel said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, since I have seen for myself that you are still alive.”

Think about it:

• Why do you think Joseph told them not to quarrel along the way?
• What does quarreling do and how does it diminish the good news? Apply that to the Church.
• Does good news sometimes seem too good to be true?  What types of things cause us to doubt? What good news is thoroughly good and completely true?
• Read 2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”
• Do you find it easier to believe bad news than good news?
• On his way to Beersheba, Jacob heard from God in a vision (Genesis 46:1-4).  God promised He would be with Jacob and bring him back. 
• But Jacob would not return alive.  “Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes,” God says.  How would God’s promises that (1) Joseph would close Jacob’s eyes at death and (2) Jacob would be brought back to be buried in the family tomb form significant encouragement for Jacob?
• Why is it necessary to leave what is behind in order reach forth in faith and hope?

Genesis 45:4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!

As we continue our look at Joseph: A Life with Many Colors, his revelation and proclamation probably wouldn’t have been reassuring for the brothers to hear.  He remembered that they had sold their own brother into Egypt.  But to see Joseph’s true character, they needed to know he had not forgotten, but had done something much better.  He had forgiven… completely.

Joseph realized that the brothers may have done the selling, but God did the sending because He had been planning ahead.

Genesis 45:5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.  6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping.  7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

Joseph never saw that plan when the Midianites dragged him away to Egypt.  He could only wonder Why?  Joseph had no inkling when he was diligently working for Potiphar and Potiphar’s wife was hitting on him, begging him to sleep with her.  Why did she have to ruin a good working situation and lie about him?  Joseph could not have foreseen how the unjust imprisonment factored in.  Joseph’s question, “Why?” must have echoed off empty prison walls.  But, in each of those moments, the very same God was at work.

Genesis 45:8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.

The brothers needed to share the good news of what God had done.

Genesis 45:9 Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay.10 You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me– you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. 11 I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’12 “You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you. 13 Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt and about everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly.”

Think about it:

• Did Joseph know in his darkest hours that God had glory planned?
• Did Jacob know when he sent his one beloved son, worrying he’d be lost too, that he’d receive both beloved sons back?
• How did Joseph’s claim that God sent him ahead serve to reassure his brothers?
• How does this much later Scripture apply?  Romans 8: 28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  How does God’s advance planning make that possible?

Joseph saw that Judah was willing to sacrifice himself rather than letting Benjamin (Joseph’s full brother) suffer. Now he began to see beyond the present and hint of a future in which God had something bigger in mind.  But the first step was to make himself known.

Genesis 45:1 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.

3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.

This was an unexpected turn of events.  The brothers had not recognized him at all!  They were beginning to see, too.  But the outcome wasn’t immediately overwhelming joy.  Rather, the brothers’ terror only increased at his identity.  It is no wonder that they were terrified.  Joseph knew they’d sold him out.  What was he going to do to them?

It was more than Joseph’s identity that was about to be revealed. 
They were about to get a glimpse of his true character. 

Think about it:

• How did Joseph’s identity not act as reassurance for the brothers?
• Had Joseph been a different kind of guy, what power did he hold over his brothers?
• Why might Joseph have commanded everyone to leave except his brothers?
• How are rescue and righteousness bound together with revelation? Read “This is what the LORD says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed.” Isaiah 56:1

Genesis 44:14 Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him.   15 Joseph said to them, “What is this you have done? Don’t you know that a man like me can find things out by divination?”

 16 “What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves– we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup.”

17 But Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do such a thing! Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back to your father in peace.”

The test has become completely personal now and Judah, the one who originally proposed selling Joseph (Genesis 37: 26-27), now steps forward into repentance and leadership.

18 Then Judah went up to him and said: “Pardon your servant, my lord, let me speak a word to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, though you are equal to Pharaoh himself.  19 My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’   20 And we answered, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young son born to him in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’ 

Read Judah’s heart again, humbly recognizing that Joseph is very powerful.  Pleading on behalf of an aged father and his youngest son, the only one left of his mother’s children…and his father loves him.  And his father loves him.

 21 “Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so I can see him for myself.’   22 And we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father; if he leaves him, his father will die.’   23 But you told your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’

 24 When we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said. 25 “Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy a little more food.’   26 But we said, ‘We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother is with us will we go. We cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’   27 “Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. 28 One of them went away from me, and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” And I have not seen him since.   29 If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery.’   30 “So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father, and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy’s life,  31 sees that the boy isn’t there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow.

32 Your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father. I said, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!’   33 “Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers.

(I will take his place.)

 34 How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come on my father.”

Think about it:

• The leader substituting on behalf of the beloved.    In what way does Judah display his heart and willingness to bear punishment?  How does this act hint at the Messiah one day arising as the Lion of the tribe of Judah?
• When Joseph says he can learn things by divination, it doesn’t mean he engages in sorcery or pagan practices.  How does this statement elicit Judah’s confession that God has uncovered their–especially his own–guilt?
• It’s not enough to feel the guilt.  God wants us to go the next step and repent.  Read Isaiah 59:19 From the west, people will fear the name of the LORD, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory. For he will come like a pent-up flood that the breath of the LORD drives along.  20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,” declares the LORD.

Genesis 44:1 Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man’s silver in the mouth of his sack.  2 Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver for his grain.” And he did as Joseph said.

3 As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys.   4 They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, “Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil?   5 Isn’t this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.'” 

6 When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them. 7 But they said to him, “Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like that!  8 We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found inside the mouths of our sacks. So why would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house?  9 If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die; and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.”

Protesting their innocence
with a little added drama probably wasn’t the best idea.

10 “Very well, then,” he said, “let it be as you say. Whoever is found to have it will become my slave; the rest of you will be free from blame.”

Something got lost in translation here.  It was supposed to be one dies and the rest are slaves…not one stays as a slave, the others are free from blame.  Maybe the steward was told why he was given such odd instructions to speak when Benjamin was caught with the silver cup.

11 Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it.   12 Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.  13 At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.

Think about it:

• Had they been willing to sacrifice Benjamin, would they have torn their clothes? 
• Think back to Jacob and this special son of Rachel.  Why did they tear their clothes in grief?
• If they would sacrifice Benjamin too, would they have loaded their donkeys up and all returned to the city?
• What might the appearance of all the brothers say to Joseph about their character and whether they were changed men?

Finishing out Genesis chapter 43 in our series, Joseph: A Life with Many Colors, Joseph sees his full brother Benjamin for the first time.  Overcome with emotion, Joseph abandons his duties as host and goes to weep in his private room.

Genesis 43:31 After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself, said, “Serve the food.”

What must the steward and servers have thought?  What must his brothers have thought?  Joseph is not just a sensitive guy.  He was well-built and handsome, remember?  He’s not a child anymore, but a grown man with children.  What was it about this particular group of Hebrews that made Joseph want to honor them by inviting them to dine with him? What about them caused such emotion for him?  In the flow of the story, the brothers are left to reconcile this mystery for now.

Genesis 43:32 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.

Think about it:

• The Egyptians did not eat with either Joseph or his brothers. The brothers were served from Joseph’s table.  How might that raise questions for the brothers or make them see Joseph differently? 
• The brothers’ astonishment only grew as they were seated in birth order.  How did this draw attention to Benjamin being the youngest?
• When Benjamin was given 5 times as much as anyone else, how did this amplify the test of whether the brothers were changed men?
• They all ate and drank freely.  What does this say about the fairness of this test?
• Read Malachi 3:10  “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”  In what way did the brothers’ bringing Benjamin act in the same way, testing Joseph’s word while he was testing them?