Dr. Michael D. Halsey
"THE BEAT GOES ON"
Genesis . 41
INTRODUCTION
God has tested Joseph and Joseph has shown himself tenacious in the faith. He has not abandoned the dream God gave him. He has now risen to power in Egypt. He’s shown that he’ll still be faithful even though he now is the most prosperous he’s ever been.
The beat goes on. The tests continue, but not for Joseph this time. Now God tests the brothers of Joseph. God will test the faithfulness of those who’ll found the nation. They are believers, but our experience with them has been that they’re very carnal ones.
The pressure on them must be such that, at the end, they’ll confess their crime of years ago in moving against their brother and selling him into slavery. At this point, the reader must wonder if they’re going to pass the test and what will God do if they don’t.
Remember, a test, to be a test, must be unexpected, a bolt out of the blue and completely illogical from the standpoint of the person being tested. In the first test, Joseph will apply the pressure to them to see if it awakens any pangs of conscience within.
In verses 1-5, the brothers all go to buy grain in Egypt, all of them except the youngest. Jacob will not risk losing another of Rachel’s sons. We see from this that Jacob doesn’t trust Benjamin with his brothers. As they start the trip into Egypt, the brothers have no idea that they’re starting to fulfill the dream Joseph had. They’re on their way to buy grain—grain from Joseph. The famine is the trigger and when the idea surfaces that Benjamin might be harmed, this puts past events in their minds.
In verses 6-20, the dream is fulfilled when they come before Joseph and bow before him. Joseph pretends that he doesn’t know them and he’s rough with them. The last time he was with his brothers they were in control, now he is. Moses tells us that Joseph remembered the dreams, which is an indication that he’s ready to do something about his brothers and their guilt.
As the test begins, Joseph puts pressure on them to remind them of their crimes against him. He starts to falsely accuse them, and remember he’s been falsely accused as well by Potiphar’s wife. He’s putting them in a situation he’s faced.
Joseph’s task is to get the whole family into Egypt, but not until he’s sure they’re ready. He wants to see if they’re honest and faithful, so he tells them to bring their youngest down to Egypt. It’s a risk, because Joseph doesn’t know what they’ll do to their brother. Have they transferred their hatred of him to the other of Rachel’s sons? The trip down to Egypt with him would show it if they have. In giving them those three days to think about it, he’s allowing for those three days to work on their consciences. If they bring Benjamin down to Egypt, then he’ll know that they are men of their word.
In verses 21-28, the brothers start speaking of their guilt to each other, they talk about how they heard the screams of Joseph for help and they didn’t respond. They believe that they’re being punished for their crimes against Joseph; they believe that God is moving against them. They’re right.
Reuben says they should have listened to him. They think they’ve killed Joseph and now God will require their blood which reminds us of Gen. 9:5-6. When they find the money Joseph has planted, they show that they see God as being behind all this when they ask, “What is this God has done to us?” They sense that God is dealing with them.
In verses 29-28, they find more money in their sacks. They sense that something ominous is going on. They’ve come home with money and left a brother in prison. Jacob sees everything as conspiring against him.
To his credit, Reuben is determined to go back and see it through. He is concerned. He and the other brothers are willing to comply with the Egyptian governor’s test. What we see here is that the brothers have changed!
The test is: will they be honest and protect their brothers at the same time? Have they learned both honesty and unity? The family must be unified before God will move them into Egypt.
What if they hadn’t passed the tests? What if they were the same as before? Then God would have wiped them out and started all over again with Joseph, just like He said He would do in Moses’ day—see Ex. 32:10 when Israel was in rebellion.
SO?
God will stir up guilt in our lives to see how spiritually sensitive we are and if we are sensitive enough to share in His program. To be fit to serve, the servant needs to be sensitive to sin in his life, show himself honest and show that he can be trusted.