V. The
People’s Stay in (Joseph) and Delivery from Egypt (Moses)
2016 4 3 Part 1
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God’s people preserved
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God hears his people’s cries and
responds
Genesis 30:1-2, 22 The birth of Joseph to Rachel
We have now
looked at the stories of God creating a good world and filling it with plants
and creatures that he called good, including humans. However, as we saw, the
first humans started to take their own directions and God's good world was
spoiled. Things got so bad that God planned to destroy the world and its
inhabitants but did end up saving one family and representatives of all the
animal life.
Then we came
to the story of Abraham, where God really try to make a new start with humans by choosing this family to be his people.
He made promises to Abraham which were passed on to his son Isaac and grandson
Jacob:
i. One of
the promises was to make of Abraham's descendants a great people. Jacob had 12 sons, so things were certainly moving
in the right direction that way in terms of a growing number of descendants.
However, as we shall see, although that could have been interpreted as a
blessing, there certainly was not unity in the family and we will see more of
the outcome of that as the story progresses. That can certainly be seen as a
negative, but we will see what becomes of it in the future.
ii. The
other major promise was that Abraham and his descendants would be given the land that Abraham settled in.
However, both of those promises become threatened again in the stories we will
look at today.
The story of
how God rescued this people so they could continue to fulfill his promises is
one of the major stories in the Bible, namely, the exodus from Egypt. However,
to appreciate that story and put it into context, we should look at why and how
the Children of Israel, as Jacob came to be called, ended up in Egypt.
Now, the
story here actually takes some very interesting turns. We are all aware that
there seems to be a widespread tradition in our world in many cultures of the
importance of the firstborn son. We saw what happened with Cain and Abel. We
won't go into details, but Abraham's son Isaac, was tricked into blessing the
second son born to him, Jacob, not the elder, Esau, although they were twins.
In this
story, it is not Jacob's eldest who is the main figure either, nor the one that
seems to get the most blessing. That would appear to be because he was the son
of Jacob's first wife, whom he was tricked into marrying by his father-in-law.
Jacob's wife
by choice, Rachel, was the one he
really loved, but as we see in this passage, she was barren or infantile; she
could not have children. This is another of those examples in the Bible where
even those people that are supposedly under God’s special attention, his care,
still experience things that rob them of the good life God wants to give them.
In spite of God’s overall good plans, some details are not always that good.
Rachel
complains to Jacob about this and he appears to remind her that it is God who
might have a hand in these things, not himself. After all, he has had other
sons already. That obviously led her to call upon God, inspired her to pray to
God, as in verse 22, we read that "God remembered Rachel, and God heeded
her," in other words heard and paid attention to her, “and opened her womb,"
made it possible for her to get pregnant after all. Jacob's firstborn son by
Rachel was Joseph.
Genesis 32:22-32, 35:1-15
With regards
to the passing of the covenant from Abraham to Isaac and now Jacob, these two
passages 24-25 are significant. In the first, Jacob has a meeting with a divine
being who wrestles with him, injuring him, and then changing his name to
Israel, "one who strives with God and human beings" and overcomes. In
the second passage, when Jacob reaches the promise land on his return from
Paddan-Arram where 1 he has gone to meet and marry Rachel, and her sister Leah,
God tells him to go to Bethel, where God had appeared to him on his way out to Paddan-Arram,
and make an altar to him there. When he does
9-12 so, God
appears to Jacob again, repeats the change in name to Israel and says "I
am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and the company of nations
shall come from you, and kings shall spring from you. The land that I gave to
Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your
offspring after you." Thus, the promises of the nation and land are
carried on and confirmed with the third-generation.
Genesis 35:16-21, 27-29
The first
passage here records the death of Jacob's favorite and beloved wife Rachel
while in childbirth with their second son, whom Jacob names Benjamin. He would
be the younger brother to Joseph. The second passage records the fact that
Jacob actually did meet his father Isaac again after all these years away when
he journeys as far south as Hebron. As with Abraham, whose estranged sons
Ishmael and Isaac both buried him, Jacob and his estranged brother Esau also
come to together to respectfully bury their father Isaac.
Genesis 37 Joseph sold into Egypt
1 So here we read that Jacob did settle in the land
where his father still apparently was seen as living as an alien. Then we read,
"this is the story of the family of Jacob," but the first thing we
read in the next verse is about Joseph. Now, as we will see, Joseph was not
highly regarded by his older brothers. In the 2 first place, as it says here in
verse two, he "brought a bad report of them to their father." Then it
says
3 that
"Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children… and he had made
him a long robe with sleeves. But when his brothers saw that the father loved
him more than all his brothers, they hated him, 4 and could not speak peaceably
to him."
5-11 It did
not help any either when Joseph began to have dreams where it was obvious that
his brothers 8 and father were subordinate, were bowing down to him. His
brothers said, "Are you indeed to reign over us? Are you indeed to have
dominion over us? (And) hated him even more because of his dreams 10 and his
words." Even his father rebuked him after he told them his second dream,
saying, "Shall we indeed come, I and your mother and your brothers, and
bow to the ground before you?" So his brothers were jealous of him, but
his father “kept the matter in mind." Jacob had significant dreams of his
own in the past, and he probably thought he better not say too much about this
dream.
12-17a
Joseph is sent on an errand by his father, to find out how his brothers are
doing with their flocks away from home. This was not wise on Jacob's part,
knowing how his brothers hated him, in part for already having brought him back
a bad report in the past. It also showed some lack of understanding on Joseph's
part, that he went along with this request to go alone to the brothers who
hated him.
17 B-24 The
brothers see Joseph coming and their hatred of him causes them to conspire to
kill him. Here we do see the eldest, Reuben,
showing some maturity and leadership, showing some respect for life and his
father, some attempt to make peace. Instead of killing him, he persuades his
brothers to simply throw him into a nearby pit, thinking, according to verse
22, that he could rescue him later and send him back to his father.
25-28 Reuben
appears to have been absent for the next part of the story, and this time
another brother who is also to figure prominently in the story of this family, Judas, persuades the brothers present
to sell him to some Midianite traders passing by. In that sense, Judas also
shows some leadership, some respect for his father and for life, some attempt
to keep peace. Mind you, it also seems he was interested in earning a profit
from the sale of Joseph. Perhaps Judas was acting under the influence of the
Holy Spirit when he came up with this plan, as we know from how the story
progresses, this was ultimately a good move for the family. The brothers
thought they were getting rid of this annoying half-brother of theirs, but it
didn't turn out that way. Now, according to 25:2 and 4, Midian was a
stepbrother of Isaac. It is not clear then why they are called Ishmaelites,
unless Isaac's half-brother Ishmael had teamed up with his stepbrothers, and
being the elder, they all went under his name.
29-35 When Reuben
returns and finds his brother gone, he is very upset. However, they all scheme
together to tell their father that his favorite son has been killed by wild
animals. So, by now they have carried out 3 bad actions – putting Joseph into a
pit, selling him and making up a lie to tell their father about his favourite
son. We will see what the outcome of their choices, based on their hatred for
this brother, are in the future.
36 This part
of the story ends with the simple statement that "the Midianites had sold
him in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the
guard." So, we know where Joseph ended up, but the rest of the family was
still in Canaan.
A theme that
we can see surfacing here is that of favoritism,
referring to Jacob's choice of Joseph as his favorite son. As we can understand,
which is not the same as saying we agree with this, this was because he was the
firstborn son of Rachel, the woman Jacob really loved and wanted to marry.
Jacob’s feelings in this way had no doubt also been strengthened by the fact
that Joseph’s mother had died in giving birth to his younger and only brother
Benjamin. Joseph would have reminded him of his beloved mother. In this part of
the story we can see how it causes negative reactions on the part of those not favored,
i.e. Joseph's brothers. Later, we will see in the story of Joseph, how being
chosen, being favored, can also lead to being given and then showing acceptance
of more responsibility.
Genesis 42:1-45:15 Joseph’s brothers meet him in Egypt
In the interests
of time, let me just summarize that after Joseph got to Egypt, his dreams and
ability to 41:37 interpret them eventually led him to become the Pharoah’s
right hand man, perhaps you could say the Prime Minister. He was in command
went as severe famine struck that whole area. However, Joseph 41:48-49 had also
shown that he had superior wisdom. Under his instruction, the Egyptians had
built 41:57 granaries so large that they had supplies for themselves as well as
enough to sell to their neighbors.
42:1-5 This
famine also affected Joseph's father and his brothers and their families back
in Canaan. When things got quite desperate, Jacob told his sons to go to Egypt
to get some grain for themselves, fearing that they would all starve otherwise.
42: 6-9 When
Joseph sees his brothers coming to buy grain, he realizes that they are now in
his control. Indeed, just as his dreams had predicted, we read in verse six
that his "brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces
to the ground. When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated
them like strangers and spoke harshly to them." When they tell him they
came to buy food, he accuses them of coming to spy on how well Egypt might be
doing under the stress of the 42:15 famine. In some ways he takes advantage of
her exploits that situation and causes his brothers a lot of suffering, which
they had, of course, caused him years before. So, in some ways, this broken
family 42:21 saw some revenge being played out here. In the midst of this, the
brothers actually realized that these negative experiences that Joseph is
inflicting on them are “the penalty for what we did to our brother; we saw his
anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this
anguish has come upon us."
42: 17, 22,
43:3-10, 44:14-34 Again though, we see some showing of leadership by Reuben and
Judas as they try and navigate these situations that Joseph traps them in.
45:1-15
Ultimately, finally, Joseph cannot contain himself and keep the secret that he
has been holding ever since he first saw his brothers bow down to him when they
came to Egypt to buy grain for the first 45:9-20 time. He tells them who he is.
Moreover, he tells them to go back to Canaan and bring his father and all the
rest of the family and their possessions and livestock. He does this with the
support of King Pharaoh when Pharaoh finds out what is going on. Joseph
obviously knew his brothers. Perhaps he was still testing them even further by
showing favoritism to his full brother Benjamin with all that he gave Benjamin 45:24
compared to the rest of them. So, when they leave to get the rest of the
family, he makes an interesting statement. He tells them "Do not quarrel
along the way." Knowing what had happened to him, he could probably
understand that what he was doing to Benjamin could cause problems amongst the
brothers, but he took that chance.
Here we see
the ultimate wisdom, leadership and generosity of the man who had previously
been thought of only as a spoiled child. Now, he turns out to be the savior of
the family. Indeed, he tells his brothers 45:7-8 that "God sent me before
you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many
survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father
to Pharaoh, and Lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt."
Again, we see how what looked initially to be some very negative planning and
action on the part of Joseph's brothers, was utilized by God for good.
Genesis 45:25-46:4, 47:21-25 Jacob and his descendants move to Egypt
45:27 Jacob,
who had never ceased to mourn the loss of his favorite son, was revived in his
spirit with the report that came back from Egypt that Joseph was still alive
and ruler over all the land of Egypt and 45:28 resolved to go with his family
to "see him before I die."
In all of
this, we do not read much about God or his being consulted or having an active
part in all of what 46:1 goes on. However, when Jacob sets out on his journey
to Egypt, he “stopped at Beersheba and 46:2-4 offered sacrifices to the God of
his father Isaac." Then God speaks to Israel, again in "visions of
the night" and says, "I am God, the God of your father; do not be
afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. I
myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I would also bring you up again; and
Joseph's own hand so close your eyes."
Again, on
the face of it, this seems to be a good outcome at this point in the story. Due
in no small part to the leadership and peacemaking, forgiving and reconciling
work of Joseph, who had previously caused division in the family, the family is
once again united, evidently with God's blessing. Their needs will again be met
in the midst of the famine. They are being looked after by the God who
provides. God also here repeats the promises made to Jacob's ancestors, that he
will make of him a great nation and that, even though they are now going to be
in Egypt, he will remain there with them and return them to Canaan.
47:21-25 another
noteworthy development occurs here as the famine continues. People ultimately
run out of money to buy grain and even run out of other produce and livestock
with which to buy grain. As a result, Joseph ends up buying all the land and
even making the people slaves in order to provide them food and keep them
alive. This is something that people here again about later.
Genesis 47:29-31, 49:1, 8-12, 50:24-26 The promises/covenant remain
Now, the
whole family of the Children of Israel are in Egypt, now numbering 66 persons
in all (46:6). This is where the promised descendants of Abraham are at in
terms of number and place. However, as Jacob illustrates in his instructions to
his sons, he knows where his place is, where the land is that God promised to
this family. Therefore, he gives, first to Joseph (47:29-31), then to all of
the brothers together (49:29-33), instructions to take him back to Canaan and
bury him with his ancestors. This wish is carried out in 50:4-14.
We have
mentioned a couple of times the role of Judah, Jacob's fourth son by Leah, his
first wife. If you read the whole book of Genesis, you will see that Judah was
by no means a perfect man. However, he, more than any of the other brothers,
stood up at the right time and made some important decisions, both in his own
family life and that of the life of the larger family, that helped preserve the
lives of all and make it possible for God to continue to show his blessings to
them. Perhaps this is what causes Jacob to give Judah the largest and most
significant blessing of his 12 sons in 49:8-12. Jacob tells Judah that
"your brothers shall praise you… Your father's sons shall bow down before
you… The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from
between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and the obedience of the peoples
is his. Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice vine,
he washes his garments in wine and his robe in the blood of grapes; his eyes
are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk."
Indeed, later on, when the children of Israel became a
nation, Judah was the tribe from which King David came and we know that David
was promised a never-ending line of regal descendants, of which Jesus was the
final one, and he rules forever. As it says here, his descendants will continue
to rule until everyone obeys his descendant. One even has to wonder about the
references to this foal and donkey's colt, whether these connect to what we
know about Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, which we celebrate as Palm
Sunday. Perhaps the references to washing his garments in wine and his robe in
the blood of grapes also refer to giving his body, his blood, in instituting
the sacrament of communion and dying for us. Even Judah had offered to die for
his brother.
The world, our basic human nature, wants to tell us
that bad choices result in bad consequences, something some religions refer to
as karma. However, as we have alluded to several times, these stories tell us
that this is not always the case. Indeed, there are some negative consequences,
but they are less than the positive ones in the form of redeeming rescue, the
repair of relationships, the forgiveness and reconciliation that God brings
about in spite of our bad choices. Moreover, God does this through people that
he has created and who are obedient to him, such as some of the heroes of these
stories. As the writer of our Anabaptist commentary on Genesis says, sometimes
our gracious, loving God surprises us with good. Joseph teaches us to see and
wait for God's visitations when they come, knowing that they come in God's
timing, and sometimes far in the future.
Finally, Joseph, like other Old Testament characters,
is seen as a ‘type’ or foreshadowing of Jesus. Like Jesus, he gave up his life,
in a sense, when his brothers threw him in a pit and then sold him to Egypt. Again,
like Jesus, even though he had been given up for dead, he appeared again, as if
he was resurrected, in a saving role in the lives of his people.
