Studies In Genesis: Chapter 43 Series

Note: When doing a study on a book in the Bible you use a lot of resources. The major influence for me on this study of Genesis is The Genesis Record by Henry Morris.

Theme: Joseph meets with his brothers including Benjamin

Title: The Second Trip to Egypt

Text: Genesis 43

Genesis 43:1. And the famine [was] sore in the land. 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.

Do you notice anything about this passage that related to the previous chapter? They waited until the last moment before they went back to Egypt. I wonder what would have happened if the famine had subsided at this moment?

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. 4 If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food: 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.

Judah pleads with him and tells him what Joseph had said. If they did not return with Benjamin then they would not get Simeon back and they would be slaves.

I do want to make kind of a contrast. This is probably not the intention of this verse but it does remind me of something. We hear the same thing that the father says to us. We shall not see his face unless our adopted brother be with us. We cannot go before God nor see his face unless we have Jesus.

6 And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye [so] ill with me, [as] to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?

Why did you tell him you had a brother? Strangely enough they really did not have to tell him because he knew.

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?

Another clue of who he was the way he asked the right questions.

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. 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:

So Judah says unto his father he will take care of the lad. He says he would be a surety for him. What is a surety? "to exchange". Do we have a surety for us? Who was that surety? Jesus Christ. How? What tribe did Jesus come out of? the tribe of Judah

10 For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time.

If we would have left earlier and not hung around and waited on you then we would have already been back.

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: 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: 13 Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man:

Proverbs 21:14. A gift in secret pacifieth anger: and a reward in the bosom strong wrath.

So his plan is to take presents. All the presents of the land. balm, honey, spices, myrrh, nuts and almonds. The only thing missing was grain the sustance of life.

Why take double the money? to return the old money.

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.

May God be with you. And if Benjamin don't come back and I am bereaved then I must be bereaved.

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.

I wonder how Joseph felt. You know that Joseph had to often wonder whether or not Benjamin his only true brother was alive. It had to cross his mind many of times whether or not they killed him also.