GRIFFIN COMMENTS GEN 43 (Gen 43:1) And the famine was sore in the land. The word famine is literally, “hunger,” and is due to the lack of water. Throughout Canaan there is a constant need for water. There are not many rivers and the ones that are there are not large. Therefore when the former and latter rains do not materialize, the people are left at harvest time with a parched land devoid of moisture. Even when there is rain, if there are east or south winds they dry up the land so that it remains in famine condition. That is why they always look for the north wind that will bring in the rain clouds from the north. Famines drove men to eat anything they could find which included much that would be unthinkable to anybody who has never suffered such hunger. Amos threatened another sort of famine: "I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord" (Amo_8:11). THE REALITY OF A DREAM TEXT: Gen_43:1-34; Gen_44:1-34 (Gen_43:28) "And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance."
INTRODUCTION:Joseph's dreams and the dreams of Pharaoh are about to be climaxed. The famine is in the land and Joseph's brethren are on their way to buy more corn. Here we seethe brethren of Joseph doing exactly what they had earlier rebelled against. 1.
THEFAMINEIN THELAND(Gen_43:1-14) 1. 2.
2.
The famine was extensive. The famine was expensive.
THEFEAROFJOSEPH'SBRETHREN(Gen_43:15-27) 1. 2. 3.
Becauseof past experiences. Becauseof present circumstances. Becauseof prospective punishment.
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3.
THEFULFILLMENTOFPROPHECY(Gen_43:28; Gen_44:14) 1. 2.
4.
THEFAVORTO BENJAMIN (Gen_43:29-34) 1. 2.
5.
Revealed to Joseph's tears. Revealed in the provisions for Benjamin.
THEFRUSTRATIONSOFJOSEPH'SBRETHREN(Gen_44:1-13 1. 2.
6.
They bowed down their heads. They fell before him on the ground.
Becauseof Joseph's plot. BecauseBenjamin had the silver cup.
THEFRUIT OFFEAR(Gen_44:15-34) 1. 2.
Conviction. "What shall we say?" Confession. "God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants"
CONCLUSION:Joseph has not yet revealed himself unto his brethren, and they have not fully realized that Joseph's dream is coming true. (Gen 43:2) And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food. Even if everyone ate sparingly the food would soon be used up in a family as large as that of Jacob, so it must not have been a very long time that they again had to go back to Egypt. Jacob now mentioned going back but said nothing of Benjamin. He said they were to get a little food. By this time their resources were very likely small and all they felt they could afford was a little. This work of God that they knew nothing about was putting them in very dire straits, and they were left with few choices.
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(Gen 43:3) And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. Up to this time the leadership among brothers had been with Reuben becausehe was the oldest son, but now [by the providence of God] it was Judah who was speaking up and would take the lead from here on, in preparing the way for Israel to be in Egypt. That was well becauseit was Judah who suggested the sale of Joseph in the first place. (Gen 43:4) If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food: Judah made it very clear that there was no need to even discussthe matter if Benjamin did not go down with them. The brothers were perfectly willing to go. They were not trying to run from the responsibility, but progress was impossible without the key factor and that was Benjamin. They were now at an impassefor Jacob could not bring himself to lose his last favorite. (Gen 43:5) But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. There was nothing in their resistance to going to Egypt that spoke of rebellion or stubbornness. They did not want to be disobedient to their father, but they knew it was uselessto even discussit without the key element—Benjamin. If they came without Benjamin then the man would kill them as he threatened before becauseit would be proof to him they were spies. They could not convince him otherwise. The only reason to go back was to get grain and releasetheir brother, neither of which was possible without Benjamin going along. (Gen 43:6) And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother? Jacob knew that it was not the fault of his sons that the man now knew they had a brother, but we see pictured here an old man caught in a dilemma and lashing out at everyone involved becausehe was so frustrated and had to blame somebody for the problem. He was trying with everything he had to escapethe inevitable. GRIFFIN COMMENTS GEN 43—PAGE 3
(Gen 43:7) And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down? The sons were giving the only logical answer that could be given, for they too were caught in the web spun by Joseph, though they did not know that he was the one doing it. They were arriving at an impasse.Jacob could not countenance surrendering his last dear possession, and the sons recognized a need for further sustenance and were ready to go, but not without Benjamin, so at this point something had to give. Neither father nor sons had an answer or solution at this point. (Gen 43:8) And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones. Then Judah stepped forth to try and bridge the gap. He began by planting the problem squarely before Jacob. The lad had to be sent and he was willing that he be held responsible. He alone knows what real faith is, who has been compelled to lose sight of or to relinquish hold of those most dear to him, relying only on the mercy and eternal love of God. Faith is that which makes us hold and cling to God when nothing else is left for us to cling to; the grasp of the dying sailor to the mast; that is faith. (F. W.
Robertson, M. A.) (Gen 43:9) I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever: He had no idea how closely they would come to that very predicament, and that he would prove himself the champion in the end by standing by his brother. Perhaps Judah, as Schmidt thinks, might be under a special instinct of divine Providence, which directed him to say these things: and it may be added, that Jacob also might be under a divine impulse, which influenced him to regard what Judah said, or otherwise his suretyship was but a poor security, and of little avail. (Gill)
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(Gen 43:10) For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time. They had waited as long as possible for this journey becauseof all the obstacles, but the time had come that there could be no more delay. A decision had to be made and it could not be put off any longer. Even now there may be a question by the rough man in Egypt, becauseit was obvious that they had been gone long enough to return by now. (Gen 43:11) And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds: Jacob finally surrendered to what he knew was inevitable. He could not wrestle God and win, though he knew not that it was God. He hated it and held on as long as possible, but it was evident at this point that he had no logical choice any longer. Thus he decided to send them away and make amends as far as possible. From the gifts he sent it is evident the famine had not destroyed all the food supply, though there was no grain for needed bread. (Gen 43:12) And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight: There appears to be a difference between this double money and the money that was placed in their sack when they returned. It may be to buy double the amount they had before, or to take care of inflated prices, and besides that make amends for the money they found in their sacks, hopefully it was an oversight on the part of those who sold them the grain. (Gen 43:13) Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man: This was one of the hardest statements Jacob would ever have to make. He had dreaded this moment ever since he first heard that the man in Egypt required it. Thesehad been long days of decision making—his heart determined that he must retain his son at any cost, and the demands of the GRIFFIN COMMENTS GEN 43—PAGE 5
man in Egypt that would not give in until he had taken all that was worth while from the old Patriarch. He had faced this same encounter when he wrestled with God in the past and gave up that time, but to Jacob this was far worse. Again, it was the same effort on God’s part to teach him to surrender his all. He could never come to the place of Abraham who built an altar and sacrificed his son, but God kept relentlessly bringing him to that point. (Gen 43:14) And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved. There is nothing so dramatic as the surrender of a heart to the will of God. We all have our own will and it is so difficult to give up. Even Jesusfound it to be His greatest struggle, but had to come to the place where He could say, “Not my will, thine be done.” There is that day when we come to the place Esther faced as she surrendered to the will of God, “If I perish, I perish.” (Gen 43:15) And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. So much was left out of the story becauseit did not relate to the important matter, but it would be interesting to fill in some of the gaps and learn of the emotions of all these sons and the bewilderment they must have gone through. You cannot help wondering about all the musings of Jacob from the time they walked away with his dearest treasure until the day he saw the wagons coming toward the old home place. On that day he had anticipated since the day they left, the one thought on his mind would be, “Is Benjamin among them?” But the record skips all of that. Leaving the homestead with the name of Benjamin on the father’s lips, the next thing they knew they were standing before Joseph. We know nothing of the journey, whether it was adventuresome or monotonous. (Gen 43:16) And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon.
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There is no doubt that the one desire of Joseph was to be with Benjamin again. He was the first one Joseph saw. He was looking for him. All the men must come and hospitality shown to them, but he now at least knew that Benjamin was there. He knew how the others had been toward him in the past and he had to find out now what their attitude was toward Benjamin, but he knew that when it all happened years ago, Benjamin was too young to have anything to do with it and was not thus affected against him as the others. This was his own brother. (Gen 43:17) And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house. The record mentioned entering the house in this verse, but the actual entry was after this for the sons were now suspicious as to why they should be carried into the house, so at the door they began their attempt to avoid capture and death at the hands of this man. Every event made them feel more vulnerable. Joseph needed to bring them into the privacy of his home so he could discussthis matter privately. (Gen 43:18) And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses. They realized that Joseph could use any small pretense to imprison them or make slaves of them, becauseto this point they had been treated roughly. They knew that the one thing he could easily use against them was the money that was not paid for the grain they took last time so they quickly made preparations to try and save themselves. There is a virtuous fear, which is the effect of faith, and a vicious fear which is the product of doubt and distrust. The former leads to hope a relying on God, in whom we believe. The latter inclines to despair, in not relying upon God, in whom we do not believe. • People of one character fear to lose God. Those of the other character fear to find Him. (Pascal) • Fear is the tax that conscience pays to guilt. (Sewell)
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(Gen 43:19) And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they communed with him at the door of the house, Before they ever entered into this man's house, they wanted to make it clear that they were not being dishonest and desired to disprove if at all possible their having any ulterior motives in their being in the land. They knew that the charge of spying was already hanging over their heads, and as time elapsed other charges were looming in the horizon. (Gen 43:20) And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food: They wanted to present the simple facts so that they could disprove any association with spies or wrong purposes, so they started from the beginning. They had not come as spies, but to provide for their family, and had done everything in an honorable way, yet they found money in their sacks that would implicate them in a crime. (Gen 43:21) And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand. Earlier we read of the money as though it were in the bottom of some of the sacks and there is a question about whether they all opened their sacks once they found money in one, to determine whether or not money was in any other, and to their surprise it was found in every one later as they opened them of necessity. They immediately recognized the seriousnessof their money being on their persons after leaving Egypt. (Gen 43:22) And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks. That is, other money besides the original money they brought on the first trip, and were now returning. Both money to buy food now and money to replace what was to be paid earlier was brought. When God puts money into our bags through the administration of His agents we can never discern who did it.
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(Gen 43:23) And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them. Jacob recognized that it was God who blessed men with unexpected gifts, and there was then a question, Had this servant been influenced by Joseph to believe in the living God? God is Elohim here and spoken of as the God of your fathers which sounds like a worshipper of Jehovah. It is not possible to know whether he was just acting as agent to Joseph, or really felt his words to be true. (Gen 43:24) And the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender. Owing to the general use of sandals in Eastern countries, the washing of the feet was almost everywhere recognized from the earliest times as a duty of courtesy to be shown to guests (Gen_18:4, Gen_19:2; Luk_7:44). Christ washed the feet of His Apostles after the Last Supper (Joh_13:1-15) with a command to wash one another's feet. St. Paul (1Ti_5:10) implied that a widow to be honored and consecrated in the Church should be one "having testimony for her good works, if she have washed the saints' feet". (Gen 43:25) And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there. They overheard a conversation somewhere, probably from a servant of Joseph, which told them they were to eat bread in this prime minister's house. This would have easedtheir minds somewhat for they were in a quandary as to why they should go to the home of this man in the first place. It is odd for strangers to be entertained by royalty. (Gen 43:26) And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth. Now for the first time the eleven stars do obeisance, just as Joseph had dreamed many years before. Before all of them except Benjamin had bowed before him but now this part of the dream had been fulfilled,
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though his parents had not yet bowed. However, it would not be long before they also would be in the same position. (Gen 43:27) And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive? I am sure that there were many things he would like to have asked about his father, but it would have given him away to do so and he still had to do some testing before he allowed them to know that he was Joseph. So he limited his discussion to things that a stranger might ask without revealing that he already knew who they were. He knew that Jacob was old and could have died between the time the sons went back home and returned. (Gen 43:28) And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance. They would most likely do this obeisance each time they answered a question of Joseph out of the respect due to a man of such honor. They also called Jacob, “Joseph’s servant,” thus transferring his obeisance from their father to him, along with a present sent by Jacob. So thus through them all the family bowed before him. (Gen 43:29) And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son. He did not wait for an answer, for he needed none. He knew who it was but had to keep up the pretense for the time being in order to carry out his design in order to learn of their present spirit. All of this tarrying and questioning of his brothers was to test them and make sure, beyond any doubt, that their spirit was now as it should be. (Gen 43:30) And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there. It was all Joseph could do now to hold back his identity and especially to his young brother. His emotional state was very tender at this moment and he had to weep, just one of several times during this ordeal.
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THE LANGUAGE OF TEARS (Gen_43:30) INTRODUCTION: There is much weeping in the Bible. In the closing verses of Genesis 43 we have a description of the second meeting of Joseph with his brothers and here we seeJoseph shedding tears. Why did he weep? 1.
TEARSOFSORROW Luk_19:41And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it Jesusshed tears over the city He loved which had rejected Him. His heart was filled with sorrow as He thought of all they were missing. They failed to see who He was and the purpose of His coming.
2.
TEARSOFSHAME Mat_26:75And Peter remembered the word of Jesus,which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly. Such were the tears of one of God’s dear children. He had yielded to temptation. He had been overcome by the power of “self.” In a moment of time he had denied the Lord. At the crowing of the cock he was reminded of the wickednessof his sin. In the burning, scalding tears he felt keenly the shame that had come over his soul.
3.
TEARSOFSUFFERING Heb_12:16-17 Oh what punishment came to the heart of Esau. In a moment of time he sold his birthright and lost it forever. The privilege was despised, the opportunity was missed and the benefits were lost.
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All of these when lost would produce sorrow of heart and deep regret. 1.
TEARSOFSYMPATHY Joh_11:35Jesuswept. This is seen in the greatest Man in the world and is found in the shortest text in the Bible. What a heart of love the Savior had. He knew how to sympathize. His sympathy was deep for all mankind in their weaknessand sin. His heart of love was always full of sympathy for those in sorrow and need.
2.
TEARSOFSERVICE Psa_126:6He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaveswith him. As we scatter the good seed of the Gospel it must be watered with tears. From whence come the tears? In the very midst of the joy of making Christ known. What satisfaction there is in knowing that you have done the will of God. God will take care of the harvest.
(Gen 43:31) And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread. Once he knew that he could control his emotions, he came out and prepared for the noon meal and tried to act his part as Prime Minister and at the same time learn from them what he could of home. He was on a tight rope, though holding the power of Egyptian government in his hands, for he was also now working with the drama of redemption. (Gen 43:32) And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians. GRIFFIN COMMENTS GEN 43—PAGE 12
There must have been another reason for Joseph eating alone. For the Egyptians to not eat with him becausehe was Hebrew would have given away the fact that he was not Egyptian, so the reason was probably that such a person of high rank would not be eating with any other than those who were invited as special guests of the government, and would include neither these Egyptian servants nor his brethren. (Gen 43:33) And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another. As Jacob told his steward how to place the brothers it was quite a surprise to the brothers, yet they did not suspicion that Joseph could have known them in any way. Perhaps it was his divining as Pharaoh’s and men like Joseph were looked up to as gods and were supposed to have certain supernatural qualities about them. Such was enough however, for these brothers to take note. It would also be a time for the steward to know the order, for later when he was searching for the silver chalice, he had to know how to go down the line from Reuben to Benjamin before finding the cup. (Gen 43:34) And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him. Joseph had a good opportunity now to see their attitude toward Benjamin. He could not allow these brethren to come here if their hearts were not right, so he tested them on many occasions to find out for sure. I apprehend, it was Joseph's wish to discover himself to his brethren, or rather to enable them to discover him. There are three things in particular while they were at dinner, each tending to this end, and as I conceive, designed for it. 1. The order of the tables. 2. The order in which they themselveswere seated. 3. The peculiar favour which he expressedto Benjamin, in sending him a messfive times more than the rest.
(A. Fuller)
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