MARCH 12, 2025 – BROTHERS TRAVEL TO EGYPT

READ: Gen. 42:1-38

There was also famine in Canaan. The LORD had ordained this (Ps. 105:6) to lead His covenant children to humility and repentance, directing their hope to Him and away from their self-willed ways. Even after his encounters at Peniel and Bethel, Jacob required ongoing spiritual renewal, and his sons especially needed repentance, given their past sins in Shechem, Dothan, and Timna.

It had been 22 years since Joseph was sold into slavery. The LORD had raised him up through imprisonment to be Egypt’s ruler and the manager of the means to preserve life. This entire story is a foreshadowing of salvation, pointing to the coming of Christ.

At first, Jacob’s sons were reluctant to go to Egypt (v.1), likely remembering that Joseph had been sold there as a slave. However, the severity of the famine forced them to obey their father’s instructions. Leaving Benjamin behind, they journeyed to Egypt, where they unknowingly encountered Joseph. While they did not recognize him, Joseph immediately recognized them and remembered the dreams he had as a youth.

God was using Joseph as His prophet. Joseph acted according to divine guidance, testing his brothers to see if they were willing to submit to God and confess their sins. He accused them of being spies. Though they denied the charge, they added, “We are honest men, prompting Joseph to probe further into their family background.

Joseph’s insistence on their guilt led him to detain Simeon while the others returned home with grain. He instructed them to bring Benjamin back on their next trip. Nevertheless, Joseph reassured them, saying, “I fear God,” and provided them with grain and their money as a gift. The brothers began to realize that their current distress was a consequence of their previous cruelty (v.21). Would they confess it to their father?

Why did Joseph recognize his brothers, but they did not recognize him?

Sing: Ps. 15:1-2