I’d say it’s hard to believe we’re only a month away from Advent 2019, but I just finished shoveling Halloween snow here in Illinois so I’m not stuck with more leftover candy than I should eat.  Therefore, it’s time to plan for Advent devotionals and announce this year’s theme: “God’s Christmas List.” 

“Aw, come’on,” you protest, “God doesn’t need a Christmas List!”

Granted, God has no needs for Himself.  He’d be the ultimate hard-to-buy-for if He was on our gift-giving list.  But the good news is this list does not indicate what He wants for Himself, but what He wants for us.  In Christ, we are on His gift-giving list.

I came to this theme in an odd way this year, and of course, it gets harder every year I do these.  (After all, how do you tell the same story without being repetitive?) All the prior years’ series are linked below so you can see, it’s been a few different ways.  This year, I was thinking about a song that gets me choked up every time.  Maybe it’s because I have grown children and young grandchildren.  Maybe it’s because the world we’re living in right now is so tumultuous.  But maybe the best reason is my heart longs for the childlike innocence missing in so much of life these days.

What is the name of the song that gets me choked up?  Grown-Up Christmas List. Perhaps you know it, too.  If you’d like to hear it, here is Michael Bublé whose golden voice is clear as a Christmas bell.

While David Foster’s version with Natalie Cole was the original, it never rose on the charts the way it did with other artists, notably Kelly Clarkson and Amy Grant.

Listening to it anew this year, it occurred to me how many of the things in this song’s lyrics God would wish for us. Peace, love, and joy that God wants for our benefit. How? As we receive through Him, His inexplicable gift: Jesus Christ, His Son and our Savior born in Bethlehem that Christmas Day!  He wants us to come to Him in innocence as a small child. But with faith–faith enough to know that material things of this world will never satisfy the way He can by giving us His peace.  That’s the message of these secular lyrics (written by Linda Thompson-Jenner) reflectively sung to Santa, but as a grown-up Christmas list. The second verse goes like this:

• As children we believed
• The grandest sight to see
• Was something lovely wrapped beneath the tree
• Well heaven surely knows
• That packages and bows
• Can never heal a hurting human soul.
• No more lives torn apart,
• Then wars would never start
• and time would heal the heart
• And everyone would have a friend
• And right would always win
• And love would never end, oh
• This is my grown-up Christmas List

Join me beginning December 1, 2019 by signing up on the sidebar of my Home Page to receive these daily devotionals. Let’s enjoy exploring what might be on God’s Christmas list.

Acknowledging inquiries about an entire season’s devotionals for your study group’s planning purposes, Seminary Gal’s prior seasons’ Advent devotionals can be accessed via the archives to the right and are as follows:  

• Last year’s Advent Devotional Series (2018) Storyteller began December 2, 2018 and entered into the Christmas story through its telling.
• The 2017 series Still Christmas, began December 3, 2017 and was the Advent complement to the Lenten series, Be Still and Know that I AM God.
• The 2016 season devotionals were called “Timeless: The Message of Christmas for All Ages” and explored how the message of Christmas is timeless truth, for all ages of people, and for all ages at all times.  Timeless hope, encouragement, grace, peace, and love as we looked into the Word, saw the face of our Lord Jesus, and experienced restoration in His presence.  His goodness and His Gospel are truly Timeless. The 2016 devotionals began November 27, 2016.
• The 2015 season devotionals were titled Incarnation and involved digging deep–and yes, I mean deep– in this important mystery of Christian theology.  They began November 29, 2015.
• Carol Me, Christmas! remains one of my most popular offerings and tells the Christmas story through our most beloved Christmas hymns and carols.  You can access all of the numbered devotionals from 2014 via the archives.  They began November 30, 2014.
• The 2013 series was Emmanuel: When LOVE Showed Up in Person and examined the Prologue to the Gospel of John.  It began December 1, 2013.
• The 2012 series focused on Expecting the Unexpected…the unexpected, unlikely, and uniquely divine qualities of God’s perfect plan outlined in Luke’s account of the Christmas story.  It began December 1, 2012.

With Simeon back with the rest of the brothers, Joseph’s steward began giving the brothers a royal welcome in today’s installment of Joseph: A Life With Many Colors.

Genesis 43:24 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.

Eating at the Governor’s house was an unexpected and somewhat confusing turn of events for the brothers who were still fearing the worst, even though the steward had already reassured them.

Genesis 43:26 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?”

Two questions more!  Hadn’t they already said too much?

Genesis 43:28 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?”

(Gulp!  Here was the moment they’d been dreading!)

“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.

Think about it:

• In what way should Joseph’s blessing have been reassuring to everyone?
• What must the brothers have wondered seeing Joseph hurry out after seeing Benjamin?
• The host of a meal would not normally abandon his company out of regard for the issue of hospitality.  In what way, did the hospitality question form a crucible (a situation of severe trial, a high temperature change-point)?  For Joseph?  And for his brothers? 
• How did the sight of Benjamin bring the test to its boiling point?
• We aren’t told how much time Joseph wept before returning.  What kinds of conversation must the brothers have had?
• This test goes both ways: receiving hospitality and showing it. “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” Hebrews 13:2 How do the concepts of “strangers” and true hospitality apply in our story today?

With Jacob’s permission to send his precious second son of Rachel, Joseph’s brothers departed Canaan.  Continuing our series, Joseph: A Life With Many Colors,

Genesis 43:15 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.”

Deprived of independence and ending up as a slave would seem to be perfect justice for men who had sold their brother into slavery.  So, they confess.

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.”

The steward must have smiled at the unnecessary confession.  Didn’t these men know they were about to be honored?

Genesis 43:23 “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.

Think about it:

• In the flow of the story, all the brothers know is that the man who spoke harshly demanded and summoned the precious brother and favorite son of Jacob (now that Joseph is “no more”).  Their guard is up because they know what they had to do to get Benjamin to come with them.  They are girded with apprehension.  How might this explain their desire to confess and fail to see the honor being prepared?
• The steward’s statement that their father’s God has given them treasure must have been confusing on many different levels.  What might some of those be?
• Have you ever been so worried that you couldn’t see the honor or blessing in front of you?
• How can fear stand in the way of our seeing the storehouse of blessing ahead?  “For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; … Do not be afraid, for I am with you;  Isaiah 43:3,5

Persisting in trust pays off and in the case of Joseph’s brothers pleading with their father, it seems the third time’s a charm in our series “Joseph: A Life with Many Colors”.  First, all the brothers stated what must be done: bring Benjamin.  No, Jacob doesn’t budge.

Genesis 42:37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back.”38 But Jacob said, “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.”

That went well.  Somehow the surety and guarantee of killing two other sons, Jacob’s grandsons, fails to be a compelling reason winning Jacob over to Reuben’s side. (Duh.) Meanwhile back in Egypt, the two brothers considered “no more” are still waiting, waiting, waiting…and very much alive.

Genesis 43:1 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. ‘”

Just a little theology note:  At this point in the Bible, Judah (later, the large tribe from which the Messiah comes) begins emerging as a leader, and Benjamin (later known for loyalty to Judah) would become the tribe that’s small but fierce, hence the wolf imagery in Jacob’s blessing from chapter 49.

Then Jacob, also known as Israel, asked, “Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had another brother?”  (He’s still brooding over this, dragging his feet on the test.)

Genesis 43:7 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’?”

Judah takes the leadership now.

 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.

And then Judah states the pièce de résistance, pointing out that Dad has been dragging his feet.   Genesis 43:10 As it is, if we had not delayed, we could have gone and returned twice.”

Third time’s a charm, or at least perseverance pays off.

Genesis 43:11 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.

If persistence pays in sending Benjamin,
there’s nothing like a little last-minute prayer as protection.

Genesis 43:14 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.”

Jacob’s not exactly the model of trust here, but the story’s not over. 
God has something far more amazing in mind.

Genesis 43:15 So the men took the gifts and double the amount of silver, and Benjamin also. 

Think about it:

• How is dragging our feet in a test not the right response?  What does God desire from us instead?
• Read James 1: 12 “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” 
• Does God ever test us to do evil, bring fear, or cause destruction?  Why does He test us? 
• Do fear and destruction fall into the category of test … or judgment?  Ought genuine followers of Jesus Christ ever be afraid of the test or the judgment?
• Sometimes a succession of difficulties can move us beyond thinking we can handle it all.  To Whom do we cry out for help when we’re at our wits end?

Genesis 42:29 When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. They said, 30 “The man who is lord over the land spoke harshly to us and treated us as though we were spying on the land. 31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. 32 We were twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in Canaan.’

Continuing our series, “Joseph: A Life with Many Colors,” good grief, those brothers blabbed a lot, and it’s bad.  What was left to tell?  The map coordinates of Jacob’s tent?  His net worth?  Wait, it gets worse.  Now the brothers drop the bomb.

 Genesis 42:33 “Then the man who is lord over the land said to us, ‘This is how I will know whether you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take food for your starving households and go. 34 But bring your youngest brother to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the land. ‘”

If you look, you can see the glazed look of panic pass over Jacob’s face as he turns a lighter shade of pale and knocks on their empty skulls.  You can almost hear Jacob’s wail of “Aieeeeee!”  What did they have now but trust that “the man” (aka Joseph, shhhh don’t tell anyone) would be good for his word?  Could it get any worse?? (Yes.)

Genesis 42:35 As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his pouch of silver! When they and their father saw the money pouches, they were frightened. 36 Their father Jacob said to them, “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!”

Melodrama aside, Jacob wasn’t taking it like a man.  “Everything is against me!” 
Everything. Wow, he doesn’t even blame just God.

Think about it:

• Do you ever feel like everything is against you?
• Simeon wasn’t “no more” … since he was still there in Egypt with very much alive “more” Joseph.  Two mores when he thought they were “no more”.   What does this tell us about the fullness of our knowledge?
• How does fear change our viewpoints?
• How did the tell-all result in the test which results in the trust? 
• Will God sometimes test you?  How does that relate to your trust in Him?
• Enjoy this verse about trust! Psalm 13:5 But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. 6 I will sing the LORD’s praise, for he has been good to me.

Joseph’s brothers are about to reveal their true colors as we continue our look at
“Joseph: A Life with Many Colors.” Joseph (the Governor over Egypt, to whom his 10 brothers have come for grain) says, Genesis 42:20 But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.” This they proceeded to do.

Well, at least they got after it promptly…but in the presence of Joseph whom the brothers still thought was a foreigner, and not their brother.

Genesis 42:21 They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come on us.”

 22 Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood.”

Joseph just got through saying he feared God.  But the brothers are afraid for a different reason.  To them, God is the punisher, demanding an account.  It’s the difference between fearing God out of reverence and fearing God because of what He can do to you as punishment.

Genesis 42:23 They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter.  24 He turned away from them and began to weep, but then came back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.

The original plan had been to send one and keep the others hostage.  The test gets a bit more personal now.  Whereas sending one might make his father send Benjamin, the youngest, because 9 others remained in Egypt, this plan is more pointed. 

Sending all home but one …
makes the test more clearly about whether one is worth saving. 

Would the brothers sacrifice Simeon (Leah’s second son)?  Would Jacob (Joseph’s father) sacrifice Leah’s second to preserve Rachel’s second?  This was a multi-layered test by Joseph, but moreover a test designed by God who is about to display that He’s not a punisher with one-for-one accounting, but a holy God who is forgiving and worthy of worship.  But to do that, there’s more testing to do.

Genesis 42:25 Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to put each man’s silver back in his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. After this was done for them, 26 they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left. 27 At the place where they stopped for the night one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of his sack.

Uh-oh.  That wasn’t supposed to happen.

 Genesis 42:28 “My silver has been returned,” he said to his brothers. “Here it is in my sack.” Their hearts sank and they turned to each other trembling and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”

Think about it:

• When there’s a natural disaster, how often do people ask, “Where was God?”  Or look to identify who God is punishing? 
• Do people (in a generic sense) view—or even want to see—God as a punisher?  What about a punisher-God do people like?
• Think about justice.  Who do we want to see punished?  Is it ever ourselves or always someone else whom we think deserves it? 
• Now, think about grace.  The silver returned was an act of grace.  The grain, too, was an act of grace since they received provisions to halt their families’ starvation without cost.  What was the brothers’ reaction to the silver and the grain, to grace?  To praise God or to worry? 
• What does that say about their fear?  Was their fear rooted in reverence or wrath? 
• Let’s bring the test home to you and me now.  Who got punished for God to give us grace? 
• Is Jesus’ grace good enough?  Do you believe God is simply a punisher of wrongdoers, or maybe when bad things happen to you that God is punishing you?
• In Deuteronomy 32:35, the Bible says of God, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay.”  How ought this remove any desire for revenge?

In our series “Joseph: A Life with Many Colors,” the brothers have paid a visit to Egypt to buy grain.  They’re met with coldness from Joseph who began to test to see whether they are the same old brothers from Canaan or reformed men who had been worked over by God and time. The brothers had no idea they were facing any test, let alone by a brother who they thought was dead, and that the test would involve the youngest brother who was back home with Dad.

Genesis 42:14 Joseph said to them, “It is just as I told you: You are spies!  15 And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!”

Perhaps all the brothers together needed time to confer and decide what to do.  Joseph gave them exactly that…mirroring what they had done in plotting his removal. A little role reversal, a tiny taste of what he’s been through.  But it’s not revenge…

Genesis 42:17 And he put them all in custody for three days.

Time enough to test their hearts and their motives. 

18 On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: 19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. 20 But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.” 

Think about it:

• Why would Joseph want to see his youngest brother?  Might Joseph want to see if his father was still protecting one and whether there was resentment of this youngest brother, too?
• How did time to think about it give the brothers’ consciences a good workout?
• How do you suppose they decided who would stay behind and who would go to plead with Jacob to send the second, only remaining son of his favorite, now deceased, wife? 
• It is strange that after three days, Joseph told them that if they did this, they would live because he fears God.  Why might that statement have been a surprise to the brothers?  Would they have expected a God-fearer in Egypt?  How might they have felt about that?
• Fearing God was something the patriarchs did long before it was written, Deuteronomy 10:12 “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?”

Genesis 42:7 As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.”  8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.

Yup.  They’re from Canaan.

Genesis 42:9 Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.” 

Continuing with our series “Joseph: A Life With Many Colors,” Joseph remembered the sheaves bowing down to his from his first dream way back in the days of Valley of Hebron (Genesis 37:5-8).  It all came back to him.  The dream of the sun, moon, and stars bowing down to him.  Family that God graciously allowed him to forget came in person, and the memories came flooding back as well.  The brothers who grumbled at the bad report now groveled before him. From grumbling to groveling, just as the dream foretold.

Yes, he remembered his dreams about them and tested them saying, “You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.” 

Genesis 42:10 “No, my lord,” they answered. “Your servants have come to buy food.   11 We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies.”

Honest men? 
Do they not remember throwing him in a cistern and selling him to Midianites? 

He pressed them again,

Genesis 42:12 “No!” he said to them. “You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”

13 But they replied, “Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”

Youngest?  What youngest?  How young??  Twelve brothers but one is no more?  There was a lot to think about for a man who was pretending to be a stranger but knew full well who those brothers were.  And who knew that “no more” hadn’t really been his own fate.

Think about it:

• Back in the days of the bad report, the brothers viewed Joseph as a spy who was sneaking back to the shade of daddy’s tent with reconnaissance on what the brothers were doing out in the fields.  How did accusing them of being spies probe their hearts?
• Several times in these few verses the words spies and seeing where the land is unprotected are repeated.  What would it say about the hearts of the brothers if they were looking for the vulnerabilities and to take advantage of the situation of abundant grain?
• When they sold Joseph into slavery, did they take advantage of his vulnerability for their gain?
• Their insistence that they are honest men must have been an odd thing to utter (since they’d been keeping that horrible secret from their father all these years) and a hard thing for Joseph to hear.  In what ways would it be hard to hear them proclaim their honesty? 
• How would this test Joseph’s forgiveness?
• “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”  2 Corinthians 7:10

The ten brothers had worked their way from Canaan to Egypt and were probably tired and hungry from their journey.  They followed the crowds to Egypt’s governor who sold grain to Egyptians and foreigners as appropriate.  Joseph knew there were 7 years of famine for Egypt, and he would be a wise steward, not taking the abundance or the accumulated storage for granted.  Egypt’s survival would be his top priority in service to Pharaoh, and in gratitude to God for His mercy.
Continuing our series Joseph: A Life with Many Colors …

Genesis 42:6 Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.

There was no guarantee that Joseph would sell them grain, so the brothers bowed low in customary humility.  They didn’t know he was their little brother Joseph.  Years had passed and Joseph had matured.  He was no longer dressed as a Semite, nor was he hairy with a Hebrew’s beard of wisdom, but clean-shaven as an Egyptian man.  They still looked like his brothers (though older), and the ten of them together was a little clue that they were family.  His family.

Genesis 42:7 As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.”  8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.

Think about it:

• Why, for God’s purpose of testing the excellence and finished work of Joseph’s forgiveness, would it be helpful that Joseph recognized his brothers, but they didn’t recognize him?
• Joseph is sometimes considered a “type of Christ”—a foreshadowing of the Messiah—though Joseph was a mere man.  In today’s story, Joseph knew who his brothers were, but they did not know him.  Now think about when Jesus had His earthly ministry. Did He know who we were and who He was?  When in the timeline was Jesus revealed as the unique Son of God who conquered death, now offering forgiveness?
• What test might be ahead for the ten brothers? 
• Is it enough that we say Jesus is God’s Son?  Or is some sort of heart change needed? 
• What is repentance and does God require it?  Why?  Is salvation more than just repentance?  (See Mark 1:14-15)
• In what way does our repentance affirm Jesus’ identity and that we’ve made that connection? Think deeply about repentance. How might this apply to Joseph and his brothers?
• How does this Scripture (Hebrews 6:1-6) amplify the connection?  Hebrews 6:1 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so.  4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

Genesis 41:57 And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.

A worldwide famine has a way of catching everyone’s attention.  Interestingly, before modern media, it was shared experiences like famine that drove the news beyond local to regional.  The famine was everywhere.  The grain was only in Egypt…by God’s design.

It was time for a little family reunion and dream fulfillment, but no one knew it but God.

Back in the Valley of Hebron, Joseph’s father Jacob had grieved over Joseph for years because he believed his other sons’ story about Joseph’s demise.  The truth is those brothers had a terrible secret they’d been hiding.  Jacob’s wife Rachel became pregnant again but on the way from Bethel to Ephrath, (Genesis 35:16-19), she died giving birth to Joseph’s only full sibling: Benjamin.

Now when the famine came, Jacob was alarmed for his family.  Famine was being felt everywhere and by everyone including his entire family, but here’s the issue: Jacob still hadn’t learned lessons about favoritism and his affections were redirected from presumed dead Joseph to Benjamin who became the protected child of Jacob’s favorite, now dead, wife.

Genesis 42:1 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?” 2 He continued, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”  

Threat of starvation hits everyone in a very personal way.  It was life or death. Word of mouth is powerful communication … news can spread like wildfire when there’s something important going on. 

Years of abundance didn’t appear to catch anyone’s attention.  Famine did. 
The whole world heard where go to find grain: Egypt.

Genesis 42:3 Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him. 5 So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also.

Think about it:

• Egypt is approximately 250 miles away from Jacob’s home.  At an average walking rate of 20-24 miles per day, the 10 sons would have been walking 10 to 12 days if they were intentional about getting there quickly…and if they were hungry.  What do you think the brothers might have talked about on their journey?
• Why is it an important detail that Jacob refused to send Benjamin?  Was Benjamin hiding the same dirty secret of the other 10 brothers? 
• Think about the brothers and their terrible secret.  How easy would it have been for the secret to slip out? 
• Do you think the brothers held the same animosity toward favorite Benjamin or did their guilt remind them of their hatred for Joseph and cause a change of heart?
• God had already been at work on Joseph (remember in Genesis 41:50-52 God made Joseph forget all his trouble and all his father’s household and made Joseph fruitful in the land of his suffering).  Forgiveness was complete, yet untested.  How might the famine come to prove the forgiveness is real?
• Can you think of a time your forgiveness of someone has been tested to see if it’s complete and genuine? Read Romans 4:7-8