An Unexpected Encounter...

This fall at the church where I serve, we have been spending our time together looking at a section of the very first letter that is recorded for us in the Bible called the book of Genesis. Last week, we ended our time together with Joseph, who was the man with the plan as Pharaoh’s right hand man, opening the storehouses of grain to sell to the people of the world as the severe famine began to weigh heavily on the world. Joseph’s planning and preparation resulted in people from all over the Middle East coming with money to buy the food that was only found in Egypt, which made Egypt the wealthiest nation and the unquestioned power in the world.

And it is in this context that we find Jacob and his family impacted by the famine. So let’s we jump back into this section of the very first letter that is recorded for us in the Bible, called the book of Genesis, beginning in Genesis 42:1:

Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, "Why are you staring at one another?" He said, "Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy some for us from that place, so that we may live and not die." Then ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Jacob did not send Joseph's brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, "I am afraid that harm may befall him." So the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who were coming, for the famine was in the land of Canaan also.

Moses brings us back into the story of Joseph by explaining that as Jacob and his family suffered under the severe drought and famine that had spread across the region, Jacob came to understand that there was grain in Egypt. Word had gotten to Jacob that there was food to be found and that was for sale in Egypt. Jacob, upon learning that there was food for his suffering family, responding by asking his adult sons a question: “Why are you staring at one another?" In other words, Jacob is saying “Why are you standing around here doing nothing?”

Jacob then commands his sons to head down to Egypt to purchase some food before the family suffered starvation as a result of the drought and famine. Moses explains that while ten of Jacob’s sons went to Egypt, Jacob kept Benjamin behind. Jacob explained to the rest of his sons that the reason he was keeping Benjamin behind was because he was afraid that harm may befall him. Now this reason, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: Benjamin is staying behind with me because I am afraid that a tragic accident could happen to him that would kill him”.

Now a natural question that arises here is “why would Jacob keep Benjamin behind? I mean isn’t Jacob concerned for the safety of the rest of his sons? What makes Benjamin so special that Jacob would want to protect him so?” The reason that Jacob did not send Benjamin was due to the fact that Benjamin had taken Joseph’s place as Jacob’s favorite. Benjamin was the only son left from Jacob’s favorite wife Rachel, which made him Jacob’s favorite.

Moses tells us that the ten sons responded to father’s command by heading down to the land of Egypt to buy food for the family. However, upon arriving in Egypt, as Jacob’s sons stood in line to obtain food to make it through the famine, something happened that they did not expect, which we see in verse 6:

Now Joseph was the ruler over the land; he was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph's brothers came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. When Joseph saw his brothers he recognized them, but he disguised himself to them and spoke to them harshly. And he said to them, "Where have you come from?" And they said, "From the land of Canaan, to buy food." But Joseph had recognized his brothers, although they did not recognize him. Joseph remembered the dreams which he had about them, and said to them, "You are spies; you have come to look at the undefended parts of our land." Then they said to him, "No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. "We are all sons of one man; we are honest men, your servants are not spies." Yet he said to them, "No, but you have come to look at the undefended parts of our land!" But they said, "Your servants are twelve brothers in all, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no longer alive."

Now, as we discovered last week, Joseph, as Prime Minister of Egypt, was second in command of the nation and was responsible for overseeing the famine relief supply program. Moses tells us that Jacob’s sons, desperately needing food, approached Joseph and bowed to the ground as a customary sign of respect for his position as Prime Minister.

However, while Joseph’s brothers failed to recognize Joseph, Joseph clearly recognized his brothers. Twenty years after being sold into slavery by his brothers, Joseph was now face to face with his brothers. And just like the dream that Joseph had when he was with his brothers; Joseph’s brothers were now bowing before him.

Now a natural question that arises here is “well how come Joseph’s brothers did not recognize him. As we discovered last week, Joseph had been given a new name. In addition, because the Egyptians prided themselves in being a clean shaven people, Joseph had lost the beard and was dressed in Egyptian clothing. Joseph’s brother’s however, still appeared with their beards and their Hebrew clothing.

Now imagine yourself as Joseph. You are now face to face with your brothers, who twenty years earlier had sold you into slavery. What thoughts would be running through your mind? What emotions would you be feeling? How would you respond?

Joseph responded to the appearance of his brothers by harshly accusing them of being enemy spies who were on a reconnaissance mission to discover the exposed and unprotected areas of the nation in preparation for a future attack. Joseph’s brothers, recognizing that they were in serious trouble, and unaware of who they are talking to, deny the allegations by claiming that they were honest men. This little phrase literally means to be morally upright and honest.

Now can you imagine what was running through Joseph’s mind at this point? “Really, you guys are morally upright and honest men? So you were being morally upright and honest when you sold me as a slave?” However, instead of revealing himself to his brothers, Joseph turns up the heat by repeating the allegation. You see, by turning up the heat, Joseph was hoping to get more information about his father and the rest of the family.

Joseph’s tactics worked, as his brothers defended themselves by pointing to their father and their youngest brother who were back in the Land of Canaan waiting for the famine relief that they had come to seek. What the brothers did not know, however, was that they were speaking to the brother that they had assumed had died long ago after being sold into slavery.

Tomorrow, we will see how Joseph responded to his brother’s denial and explanation…