November 30, 2020
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Genesis? Here’s today’s reading:
Genesis 43 (NIV)
The Second Journey to Egypt
1 Now the famine was still severe in the land. 2 So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little more food.”.......Continue Reading
Jacob again jumps to giving gifts to people he thinks are angry at him like he did with his brother Esau although he seemed skeptical that it was going to work.
It was touching to see Joseph get so emotional at seeing a grown up Benjamin who was probably very little when he last saw him. I also think it was funny to give his brothers almost a test of the youngest being favored again by giving Benjamin the largest portion of food. Maybe wondering if his brothers had changed at all.
Genesis 39-43
I am always amazed that after all that his brothers did to him, he still forgave them. Forgiveness is such a powerful weapon!!!
Genesis 43. I am not familiar with the overall timeline of the lives of everybody in the Bible. I am confused if this is the same Joseph as in Mary and Joseph? Also if anybody has a good resource for seeing the big picture (timeline of the Bible and peoples lives) I would appreciate any suggestions! I am sometimes successful finding overviews of chapters on Pinterest but otherwise I still get confused with all the timelines!
Kaitlin, this is thousands of years before the birth of Christ and alot of Jewish history has to unfold before Mary and Joseph become Jesus’ earthly parents. These accounts here show why the Jews ended up in Egypt and then how they became slaves there. Moses will lead them to freedom and back to the promised land but it will take Joshua to conquer the territory. They will be ruled by judges first and then by kings. They will then be exiled from the promised land because of their disobedience and God will send many prophets to call them to repentance, to comfort them while they are in exile and give them a brighter vision of the future when they will return. The Old testament ends with the Jews resettling in the promised land and with the promise of Messiah coming. The Bible then has a period of silence where no books are written but the Jewish people struggle for survival and are eventually vanquished by the Greeks and then the Romans. It is in this time of Roman occupation that Jesus is born and the New Testament picks up God’s work amongst human kind.
Hope that helps…..
Genesis 43
Genesis 43
I was thinking back to Joseph’s dream about his parents and brothers bowing before him. His dream was true and perhaps some interpret his sharing of his dream as a proud moment, but Joseph’s “path to power” was a very, very humble one!
“And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed down before him to the earth. 27 Then he asked them about their well-being, and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”
28 And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves.”
Genesis 43
One does wonder why Joseph concocts this ruse rather than just coming out and saying it was him. After what his brothers did to him, it was important for Joseph to assess where they were and where he was and if and how they had changed through the process. After all it was because of what they did to him that he was in the capacity to do it. And how they regarded and treated Benjamin and Jacob in his absence may have been a piece of it. You wonder if things might have been different if Benjamin and Jacob were with them in the first visit. It is sad that Jacob is the least changed. His favoring of Benjamin is as blatant as his favoring of Joseph. It is only after a second son Judah guarantees Benjamin’s safety that Jacob consents to let him go.
How wonderful it must have been for Joseph to see his full brother and see how his brothers interacted with him. For a second time Joseph has to conceal his tears as he deals with his emotions being reconnected with his family. We also see in this chapter the clear fulfillment of Joseph dream and he was spot on.
It is also interesting to hear Joseph’s servant speak about the Hebrew God in the way that he does. One could assume Joseph’s influence and trust in God is being reflected there. And how confusing it must have been for all of them to be treated so graciously by this Egyptian ruler. But it allows Joseph to bless them as well as test them and spend significant time with them as well. The connection of family runs deep, and it doesn’t take much to get back to the camaraderie that God intended. Joseph is having them jump through some hoops to see if they and he are in that place.
26When Joseph came home, they presented to him the gifts they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground. 27He asked them how they were, and then he said, “How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still living?”
28They replied, “Your servant our father is still alive and well.” And they bowed down, prostrating themselves before him.