Genesis 43-45 Devotional Bible Study

Genesis 43-45 Chapter Summary

When the family was out of food again, Jacob told his sons to go back to Egypt to buy more food, but they said they wouldn't go unless he sent Benjamin with them. Judah offered to guarantee Benjamin's safety, and Jacob allowed Benjamin to go. He also told them to take twice as much silver (to pay for both loads of grain) and some of the products of the land of Canaan as a gift to Joseph. Then he asked God to let Joseph be merciful to them and let Simeon and Benjamin both return with them.

When they arrived in Egypt, and Joseph saw Benjamin, he told his servant to take the brothers and prepare a meal for them at his house. The brothers thought Joseph was taking them home to make them his slaves for not paying for the grain on their first trip, but the servant assured them he had received their silver. Then he brought Simeon out to join them.

 

When Joseph arrived home, he ordered that Benjamin be given five times as much food as the others.

 

As the brothers were getting ready to leave again, Joseph told his steward to secretly put the men's silver back in their sacks, along with Joseph's silver cup in Benjamin's sack. Before they got very far away from the city, Joseph sent his steward to stop them and accuse them of stealing the cup. The brothers swore they had not taken anything and that if anyone had the cup, that brother would be punished by becoming Joseph's slave.

 

When the cup was found in Benjamin's sack, however, all of the brothers returned to Joseph and offered to be his slave. Judah especially pleaded to take Benjamin's place.

 

"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.

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."

- Genesis 44:33-34

 

At this, Joseph wept and revealed himself to his brothers. The brothers were too afraid to speak, but he assured them he wouldn't harm them and that it was actually for their good God had sent him to Egypt. 

"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."

- Genesis 45:5

 

He then invited them to go get Jacob and their families and live in Egypt, in the region of Goshen. Pharaoh himself seconded the invitation when he heard Joseph's family had come.

 

Then he sent his brothers away, and as they were leaving he said to them, "Don't quarrel on the way!"

- Genesis 45:24

 

When they told Jacob about Joseph being alive and ruling Egypt, Jacob decided to go see him.

 

Go With It – In Faithfulness!

Notice how much fear is in this story. Jacob was afraid Benjamin would be killed. The brothers were afraid they would be denied food if they showed up without Benjamin. Once the brothers arrived in Egypt and were taken to Joseph’s house, they were afraid they were going to be enslaved. 

But did anything they feared actually happen? Benjamin ultimately arrived and returned safely. The brothers were shown hospitality in Egypt, forgiven for their past sin, and sent away with everything the needed – with a promise of more when they returned! They had no need to fear.

Neither do we. The GOOD and WISE Lord is in control. All we have to do is go with His plan as best we can and trust Him to work it out for us.

 

How Can You Tell You’ve Changed?

Genesis 44:33-34

“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. 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.”

At the beginning of Joseph’s story, Judah, along with his 9 brothers, threw Joseph down a well, sold him into slavery, and then told their father he had been attacked and killed by a wild animal. Why? Because he was concerned only for himself. He didn’t want this younger brother of his thinking he could grow up to rule over him.

But now what is Judah thinking? He’s not concerned about himself but about how his father would feel to lose his youngest son, the only son he had left from his beloved Rachel.

One way we can tell we’ve changed is if we put others’ interests above our own. Are we concerned about ourselves or about other people? Are we willing to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of someone else?

Jesus did, and Judah was willing to. So should we.

If you’re not at that point yet, ask the Holy Spirit to change your heart.

 

Bad Things? Wait and See

Genesis 45:5-7

“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. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. 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 forgives his brothers and tells them, in essence, not to worry about what they did to him. Why? Because God was also involved. The brothers sold Joseph into slavery, but God also sent Joseph to Egypt. So, who was responsible, the brothers or God? It was both!

Joseph later said, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20).

So, what do we do with this? Should we conclude that God wanted Joseph to be enslaved in Egypt so that he would be in place to manage the food supply and avert disaster during the famine? Does God cause people to sin against us to bring good out of it?

No, because God never causes anyone to sin, just like He didn’t cause the brothers of Joseph to sin. But we can see that while sinful people are acting, God is also acting. He uses the sinful actions, as well as the righteous actions, of others to accomplish His will.

If something bad has happened to you, or is happening to you, you can be sure that your God will bring something good out of it. I pray that you can be patient enough to wait and see.