Genesis 42: 1 – 38
Sound familiar?
42 When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” 2 And he said, “Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may live and not die.” 3 So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brotherBenjamin with his brothers, for he said, “Lest some calamity befall him.” 5 And the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who journeyed, for the famine was in the land of Canaan. 6 Now Joseph was governor over the land; and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the earth. 7 Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted as a stranger to them and spoke roughly to them. Then he said to them, “Where do you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.” 8 So Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. 9 Then Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land!” 10 And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all one man’s sons; we are honest men; your servants are not spies.” 12 But he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.” 13 And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more.” 14 But Joseph said to them, “It is as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You are spies!’ 15 In this manner you shall be tested: By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of you, and let him bring your brother; and you shall be kept in prison, that your words may be tested to see whether there is any truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!” 17 So he put them all together in prison three days. 18 Then Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God: 19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses. 20 And bring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so. 21 Then they said to one another, “We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us.” 22 And Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us.” 23 But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter. 24 And he turned himself away from them and wept. Then he returned to them again, and talked with them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. 25 Then Joseph gave a command to fill their sacks with grain, to restore every man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. Thus he did for them. 26 So they loaded their donkeys with the grain and departed from there. 27 But as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the encampment, he saw his money; and there it was, in the mouth of his sack. 28 So he said to his brothers, “My money has been restored, and there it is, in my sack!” Then their hearts failed them and they were afraid, saying to one another, “What is this that God has done to us?” 29 Then they went to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying: 30 “The man who is lord of the land spoke roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. 31 but we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. 32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan.’ 33 Then the man, the lord of the country, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for the famine of your households, and be gone. 34 And bring your youngest brother to me; so I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. I will grant your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’” 35 Then it happened as they emptied their sacks, that surprisingly each man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. 36 And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are against me.” 37Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.” 38 But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.”
As I went about preparing this study on my mind was the advertising of an upcoming movie involving the kidnapping of J P Getty’s grandson? Looking into this event the more I learned the more I saw things that sounded familiar of another kidnapping that happened thousands of years before.
The crime thriller All the Money in the World, opened on Christmas day 2017 though not exactly in the Christmas spirit, is filmmaker Ridley Scott’s spin on the true story of how billionaire oil tycoon J. Paul Getty begrudgingly paid ransom to the criminals who kidnapped his 16-year-old grandson J. Paul Getty III.
The free-spirited teenager, who went by Paul, had been living in Rome as his father J. Paul “Eugene” Getty II oversaw the Italian side of the family business.
He disappeared before dawn on July 10, 1973. His mother received the following note, which TIME published in the July 30, 1973, issue: “Dear Mother: I have fallen into the hands of kidnapers. Don’t let me be killed! Make sure that the police do not interfere. You must absolutely not take this as a joke…Don’t give publicity to my kidnapping.”
At first, though kidnappings were plaguing Italian society at the time, police and the boy’s friends didn’t believe he had been kidnapped. As that same TIME article reported, he was already hardly ever at the apartment he lived in with his mother. His friends said he was always running out of cash and the boy even joked “about solving his financial problems by arranging his own ‘perfect kidnapping.'”
The police realized there was no joke being played when the boy’s mother got a letter and two phone calls that seemed to be from one of the kidnappers, saying he would send her one of her son’s fingers. Ransom was set at $17 million — but, though the hostage’s grandfather was one of the world’s richest men at the time, he refused to pay.
Getty the billionaire had five sons with four of his wives. TIME quoted the boy’s grandfather as saying that he opposed paying the kidnappers in principle, because it only encourages kidnapping as a criminal practice. He added that he had 14 grandchildren so he felt that this would cause the kidnapping of his other grandchildren.
The kidnappers got to work trying to force the family’s hand, as the story generated increasing publicity. As the Dec. 24, 1973, issue of TIME reported,“ early in November, an envelope was delivered to the Rome daily Il Messaggero. It contained a lock of reddish hair and a severed human ear. ‘This is Paul’s first ear,’ read a typewritten note. ‘If within ten days the family still believes that this is a joke mounted by him, and then the other ear will arrive. In other words, he will arrive in little bits.'”
Meanwhile, the young Getty’s mother had told her son’s kidnappers that she would look into negotiating a price, and (via a police-wiretapped a phone call) they eventually settled on $2,890,000.
The ear delivery was apparently the straw that broke the camel’s back for the boy’s grandfather — sort of. Accordingly He would pay the $2.2 million of the ransom that his accountants said was tax-deductible as a casualty loss under the tax code of the day, which limited such write-offs to 10 percent of one’s taxable income; the boy’s father would have to cover the rest, which he did by borrowing from his father at 4 percent interest.”
Paul Getty the III’s five months of captivity ended before dawn on Dec. 15, 1973. Truck Driver Antonio Tedesco was heading toward Salerno on the Italian autostrada shortly before dawn. Suddenly in the driving rain he saw a lone figure wildly waving his arms by the side of the road. Tedesco pulled to a stop, and the young man, weeping and drenched to the skin, told him: “I am a kidnapping captive. I need to get to a telephone to call my mother in Rome.” Moments later, the carabinieri arrived. “I am Paul Getty,” he told them. “May I have a cigarette, please?” The police immediately noticed what the truck driver had not: the youth’s right ear was missing.
Weak and hungry, young Getty told the police he had been released five hours earlier and had wandered around in the rain trying to wave down passing cars. He said his kidnapers had kept him blindfolded and moved him from one hiding place to another in the rugged mountain region of Calabria in southern Italy during five months of captivity.
About a month later, the magazine reported how the paying of the ransom actually helped nab the kidnappers. The family dispatched an American named Fletcher Chase with sacks full of Italian lire, each note of which had been microfilmed by police, to deliver the ransom. As he followed the kidnappers’ instructions, driving south of Naples, the gang pulled up alongside him and he stopped the car. “While he was handing over the sacks of lire, a car driven by a Rome detective with a policewoman at his side halted nearby. Pretending to be tourists taking pictures, they managed to get a close look at the suspected kidnapers,” TIME reported. “Once back in Rome, the police identified the Calabrians and then shadowed them for a month before making the arrests.
Nine of them were eventually arrested, the New York Times later reported but there was only enough evidence to convict two.
Here are some things that seemed similar to me to what we will learn in this chapter compared to the Getty kidnapping;
. Jacob and J P Getty had children from four wives
. Each kidnapping involved the negotiation and payment of money
. In each kidnapping an object was sent to the family – The multi-colored coat to Israel and an ear to the Getty family
. In both cases the kidnapped person was not killed.
. Both kidnapped victims revealed their identity to their families and others
I am sure if you take some time you can come up with a few other similarities but enough of them. Let’s take a look at today’s scriptures and let you be the one to pick up on comparable findings.
42 When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” 2 And he said, “Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may live and not die.” 3 So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “Lest some calamity befall him.”
We have learned that after Joseph was taken to Egypt and sold into slavery that Jacob did not know anything about his son. He thought from the evidence given to him by his other sons that Joseph was killed. Jacob also therefore did not know that there were years of famine to come. But things were clearly bad. The rain had not come and their stores of corn were getting low and there was little prospect of renewing it locally, for everyone was suffering in the same way. But then came the news that Egypt had a sufficiency of corn and was willing to sell it to foreigners. So he had no hesitation in sending his sons to buy corn there. But he refused to let Benjamin go because he still remembered what had (in his own mind) happened to Joseph.
5 And the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who journeyed, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
As they travelled to Egypt they found themselves in company with many travelling the same route, for all had been hit by the famine.
6 Now Joseph was governor over the land; and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the earth.
It is probable that Joseph had arranged things in such a way that all Canaanites coming to buy food had to approach him. He would not of course be actually selling the food but would be on a seat of honor and approached by those who came, who would abase themselves to him before passing on to those who actually handled the transactions. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived they prostrated themselves before this great man.
7 Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted as a stranger to them and spoke roughly to them. Then he said to them, “Where do you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.”
When Joseph saw his brothers he knew them immediately, but he did not make himself known. Rather he signaled to his underlings to bring them forward so that he could speak with them. They were probably quite apprehensive at being selected out to speak to this great Egyptian overlord, and were even more so when he addressed them harshly. They must have wondered why they should be picked out. All they could do was answer his questions and hope for the best. So in answer to his harsh question they humbly explained that they had come from the land of Canaan.
8 So Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.
The brothers did not know him, even though he knew them. There was no way in which they would have recognized him. He was dressed in the dignity of his office, with his head shaved, probably having make up, dressed in Egyptian clothing, and that he was now a mature man changed by the course of years and what he had been forced to go through. Moreover he spoke to them through interpreters and they would not dare to look at him closely but would do so with bowed heads.
9 Then Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land!”
Joseph had lessons which he wished to teach them. He remembered the dreams of them bowing down to him and was determined they would do it in full measure. First and foremost a lesson that he wanted them to know was the fear he experienced being sold to the Ishmaelite. They did not treat him very well but was just to them a commodity. He had to deal with foreign people who were foreign to him. He therefore accuses them of being spies come to spy out conditions in the land so as to report back to prospective invaders. The words must have brought a chill to their hearts. The Egyptians could be very severe on their enemies and this man clearly had the power of life and death.
10 And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all one man’s sons; we are honest men; your servants are not spies.” 12 But he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.” 13 And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more.”
They desperately seek to assert their innocence and integrity, but to no avail. Please reflect back to when the brothers came upon Joseph and threw him into the dried out cistern. He cried out to them and they ignored his pleas. So as Egypt’s great man he acts out that he does not believe them and again accuses them through the interpreters of coming to find out the weaknesses of the land. So with fear in their hearts they try again.
They try to present a full picture of themselves so as to allay suspicion. ‘We -- are twelve brothers.’ They still think of their family in terms of twelve sons a sign that they have not just been able to dismiss Joseph from their minds. This would suggest a sense of guilt and regret. And they assure him that the reason that only ten were there was because of the twelve one had died, and the other was young and with his father.
14 But Joseph said to them, “It is as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You are spies!’ 15 In this manner you shall be tested: By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of you, and let him bring your brother; and you shall be kept in prison, that your words may be tested to see whether there is any truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!”
For another lesson Joseph intends that just as he went into slavery and then into custody they too will experience the same. He wants them to taste something of what he had known, in order to see how they will come out of it. Thus he proposes that one should go and return with this supposed youngest son while the remainder is held in custody.
17 So he put them all together in prison three days.
Wouldn’t his be very interesting that it may well have been in the same prison where he himself had been held. Certainly it would give them a taste of the terror he had known. He felt that it was something that they should know, and they were not immature young men like he had been. Wow.
18 Then Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God: 19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses.
On the third day they are brought out of the prison and led before the great Egyptian official. The news was not as bad as they had feared. One brother was to be retained as a hostage, the others would be allowed to return home. But they must return with Benjamin to prove the truth of their words. ‘He is offering them a chance to save their lives. Thus they realize that the possibility of their execution had been very close.
20 And bring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so. 21 Then they said to one another, “We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us.” 22 And Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us.”
This living nightmare that is happening to them brings to their minds the day when their younger brother had pleaded for his life and they had refused to listen. At least it demonstrates that they continually carried it on their consciences. Now they realize that judgment for what they had done is coming on them. And Reuben bitterly forces it home. ‘I warned you,’ he says. ‘And now his blood is being required of us.’ They all thought that by now Joseph was dead.
23 But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter.
Had it not been for this twist in the story we would never have known that Joseph had deliberately been speaking through an interpreter
24 And he turned himself away from them and wept. Then he returned to them again, and talked with them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.
Joseph overhears what they are saying and it brings tears to his eyes. He goes out from them prior to speaking to them again through the interpreter. Then he acts promptly. Simeon is placed in custody (‘bound’) and they are made to watch as Joseph wanted to make the greatest possible impression.
25 Then Joseph gave a command to fill their sacks with grain, to restore every man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. Thus he did for them. 26 So they loaded their donkeys with the grain and departed from there.
Joseph now makes sure they are well provided for. Abundance of corn, provisions for the journey and their silver returned, hidden in their sacks.
27 But as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the encampment, he saw his money; and there it was, in the mouth of his sack. 28 So he said to his brothers, “My money has been restored, and there it is, in my sack!” Then their hearts failed them and they were afraid, saying to one another, “What is this that God has done to us?”
The sight of the silver terrifies them and they are filled with fear. This was the worst possible thing that could have happened. It had looked as though things might be about to be resolved reasonably satisfactorily and now this. It was clear things were still as bad as ever. They were clearly marked down as victims due to pay the price for their previous sins. And their consciences make them think that God is punishing them. Don’t we all tend to think the same way?
29 Then they went to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying: 30 “The man who is lord of the land spoke roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. 31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. 32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan.’ 33 Then the man, the lord of the country, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for the famine of your households, and be gone. 34 And bring your youngest brother to me; so I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. I will grant your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’”
Jacob has no doubt noted the absence of Simeon and he listens with failing heart to the story unfolded. The brothers explain that ‘the Man’ suspected them of being spies and in order to allay his suspicions demanded to see the youngest son whom they had not taken with them, otherwise he would assume their guilt. Meanwhile he had had Simeon bound and was keeping him as a hostage.
35 Then it happened as they emptied their sacks, that surprisingly each man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.
But then an even worse thing happens. All the other sacks are now opened as they store the corn, and the remaining silver is found. Their silver has been returned. Again let us look back and remember that these brothers sold Joseph to traders. This could only mean one thing. Their status as traders was rejected. They were marked for destruction. With wild eyes they looked at each other. They were desperately afraid.
36 And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are against me.”
To Jacob this is the end of hope for Simeon. Now he has lost two sons. And yet now they expect to be able to take Benjamin as well! ‘All these things have come on me.’ Tragedy has piled up on tragedy as a great burden to be borne and it is all too much for him.
37Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.”
Reuben is concerned to go straight back to secure Simeon’s release. He reveals here something very admirable in his character. Things may look foreboding but he is prepared himself to take the risk in order to obtain, if at all possible, his brother’s release, and he is prepared to die in the attempt. But he realizes how his father is feeling. So he uses the strongest argument he can. If he does not bring Benjamin back then his father can kill his two sons. He will then fully share in the sufferings of his bereaved father. But Jacob will not go along with such a stupid suggestion. Jacob loves his grandsons also and would not think of sacrificing them. This response from Jacob should have been as a cool drink of water to the brothers since all their lives them allow jealousy to linger on their minds that dad loved Joseph more than they.
38 But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.”
Jacob refuses the offer. Under no circumstances will he let Benjamin go. Benjamin is all of Rachel he has left. Thus is Simeon left to his fate? And this is how things would have remained had it not been that the famine went on and on and forced the issue.
