[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”LCF Bulletin LCF 6-10-18 Judah, Like Jesus Barters Himself For Benjamin Gen. 42 29 & 44 34″ _builder_version=”3.6″]
(1) Walk Thru The Word for Today: Gen. 42: 29- 36 (ESV)
(Jacob Thinks He Will Lose 3 Sons Now)
29When they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them, saying, 30“The man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us and took us to be spies of the land…. 33Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I shall know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for the famine of your households, and go your way. 34Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I shall know that you are not spies but honest men, and I will deliver your brother to you, and you shall trade in the land. (Signaling Jos’ plan to bring his family to Egypt)
35As they emptied their sacks, behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack. And when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid. 36And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has come against me.” my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has come against me.”
(2) Walk Thru The Word: Gen. 42: 37-38 & 43:1-3 52 (ESV)
(Reuben Makes A Rash Pledge To Show His Sincerity & & Judah Is Anointed To Lead The Family)
37Then Reuben said to his father, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.” 38But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If harm should happen to him on the journey that you are to make, you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.””
Gen. 43: 1-6
1Now the famine was severe in the land. 2And when they had eaten the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little food.” 3But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned us, saying,
‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ 4If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 5But if you will not send him, we will not go down…”6Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man that you had another brother?”
(3) Walk Thru The Word for Today: Gen. 41: 43: 7- 14 (ESV)
(Jacob Is Bereaved Believing He’s Lost Benjamin with Simeon)
7They replied, “The man questioned us carefully about ourselves and our kindred, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ … Could we in any way know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” 8And Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. 9I will be a pledge of his safety. …”
11Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry a present down to the man, a little balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. 12Take double the money with you. Carry back with you the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight. 13Take also your brother, and arise, go again to the man. 14May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, and may he send back your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”
(4) Walk Thru The Word for Today: Gen. 43: 15 – 29 (ESV)
(Jacob Sends Benjamin with The Boys To Buy Food From Joseph)
15So the men took this present, and … double the money with them, and Benjamin. They … went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
16When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make ready, for the men are to dine with me at noon.”…18And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph’s house… 23He replied, “Peace to you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks for you. I received your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.
24And when the man had brought the men into Joseph’s house and given them water, and they had washed their feet, and … 26When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present … and bowed down to him to the ground. 27And he inquired … “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” 28They said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves. 29And he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother…? God be gracious to you, my son!”
(5) Walk Thru The Word for Today: Gen. 43: 30-34 & 44:1-2 (ESV)
(It is an abomination for Egyptians to eat with the Hebrews)
30Then Joseph hurried out, for his compassion grew warm for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. And he entered his chamber and wept there.31Then he washed his face and came out. And controlling himself he said, “Serve the food.” 32They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians.
33And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth. And the men looked at one another in amazement. 34Portions were taken to them from Joseph’s table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. And they drank and were merry with him.
Gen. 44:1-2 1Then he commanded the steward of his house, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack, 2and put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, with his money for the grain.” And he did as Joseph told him.
(6) Walk Thru The Word for Today: Gen. 44: 1-13 (ESV)
(Joseph Entraps & Bring Back His Brothers)
3As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away with their donkeys. 4They had gone only a short distance from the city. Now Joseph said to his steward, “Up, follow after the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? 5Is it not from this that my lord drinks, and by this that he practices divination? You have done evil in doing this.’”
6When he overtook them, he spoke to them these words. 7They said to him, “Why does my lord speak such words as these?… 9Whichever of your servants is found with it shall die, and we also will be my lord’s servants.” 10He said, “Let it be as you say: … 12And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13Then they tore their clothes, and every man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.
14When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there. They fell before him to the ground. 15Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination?”
(7) Walk Thru The Word for Today: Gen. 44: 16–34 (ESV)
(Judah Jumps In To Keep All The Brothers Together with Benjamin & When that Fails He Tries to Sacrifice Himself for Benjamin)
14When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there. They fell before him to the ground. 15Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination?” 16And Judah said, “… how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found.” 17But he said, “Far be it from me that I should do so! Only the man in whose hand the cup was found shall be my servant. But as for you, go up in peace to your father.”
18Then Judah went up to him and said, “… 22…’The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’…
27Then … my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. 28One left me, and …“Surely he has been torn to pieces,” and I have never seen him since. 29If you take this one also from me, and harm happens to him, you will bring down my gray hairs in evil to Sheol.’
…32For your servant became a pledge of safety for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father all my life.’ 33Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers. 34For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the evil that would find my father.”
(8) (Yellow – Not In Your Notes) [bctt tweet=”The new testament explains God’s principles. The Old Testament shows us the processes of how those principles work in our lives!” username=”LibertyCF3″]
The new testament explains God’s principles.
The Old Testament shows us the processes of how those principles work in our lives!
- The Old Testament traces a family bloodline to the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- God nurtures that family into a nation, and society that will receive and safeguard His Word.
- God’s Old Testament Word points to and prepares us for His Messiah!
- The Old Testament uses the members of that bloodline as the primary examples to demonstrate how God works in the lives of His people then and now.
- The New Testament shows how Christ fulfills the Old Testament through His substitutionary and redemptive Work on The Cross that makes the way for us to be “Born Again.” God uses the transformed disciples to spread the Gospel and explain God’s principles that transform the lives and civilizations that receive Him!
(8) Message map: Series: #8 Bouncing Back From Betrayal!
Gen. 42:29 — 44:34
“Judah, like Jesus, Barters Himself For Benjamin”
- Reuben & Judah Repent & Take Responsibility for Benjamin
- The Brothers fulfill prophecy By Bowing To joseph To Buy Food
- Though Joseph Is In Egypt, He is Of God, and converts his servant, who testifies to god’s grace & mercy
- Joseph Weeps as a picture of Christ who Has compassion on undeserving but repentant sinners
- Joseph Traps Benjamin, believing its best he stays behind
- Joseph Weeps as a picture of Christ who Has compassion on undeserving but repentant sinners
- Judah Rebounds & Barters Himself To Joseph For Benjamin repents
- Judah repents of hurting his father by a) selling off joseph, b) running off and marrying a Shullmite and returns to the fold and pledges to bear punishment if Benjamin is injured
(9) Gen. 42: 34-36 Reuben & Judah Repent & Take Responsibility for Benjamin & We See a picture of how salvation is free!
In Gen 42: 34, Joseph reveals his intention is to Bring the youngest brother, Benjamin, and the rest of the families to Egypt, and I will deliver your brother to you, and you shall trade (be merchants) in the land. NOTE: It was not God’s will for them to take the deal Shechem, who offered for them to stay in that land when Dinah was defiled, but it is God’s Will for them to take this one.
In Gen. 42: 37-38 37Reuben makes a ridiculous proposal saying his father can “Kill my two sons if I do not bring [Benjamin] back to you.”
38But he [Jacob] said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If harm should happen to him on the journey that you are to make, you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.””
Jacob doesn’t accept Reuben’s proposal because it doesn’t make sense to lose 1) Joseph, 2) Simeon, 3) Benjamin and then have to kill 2 more of his grandchildren.
Gen. 42: 35 – 36 “every man’s bundle of money was in his sack,” which is a symbol that we don’t have to try to pay for our salvation!
(10) Famine forces the family into god’s 3-Fold plan & Judah Ascends to the role of the family’s leader
In Gen. 15: 12-16 12As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. 13Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
In Gen. 15: 12-16 God’s 3-Fold Plan is
- 13Abraham’s offspring will sojourn (strangers) in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted (enslaved) for 400 years.
- 14But I will bring judgement on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.
- 16And they shall come back here in the 4th / fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
Gen. 43: 1-6 1Now the famine was severe in the land. 2And when they had eaten the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little food.” 3But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned us …’You shall not see my face unless your brother-Benjamin is with you.’ 4If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 5But if you will not send him, we will not go down…6Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man that you had another brother?”
(11) Gen. 43: The Brothers Bring Benjamin & Bow before Joseph Who Restores Simeon & blesses Benjamin
16When Joseph saw Benjamin unharmed he knows his brothers did not harm him and treat him like they treated Joseph. He tells his steward, “Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make ready, for the men are to dine with me at noon.”…
18And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph’s house,
23Joseph’s servant says, “peace to you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks for you. I received your money.” (Meaning, “and I gave it back to you. You don’t have to pay for God’s favor and grace.”) Then he brought Simeon out to them.
26When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present … and bowed down to him to the ground. 27And he inquired … “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” 28They said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves. 29And he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother…? God be gracious to you, my son!”
(12) Gen. 44: 30-34 Joseph Weeps & washes & Eats for the first time in a long time with like-minded peopled 
Gen. 44: 30Then Joseph hurried out, for his compassion grew warm for his brother, and he entered his chamber to weep. 1Then he washed his face and came out. And controlling himself he said, “Serve the food.” 32They served Joseph, his brothers and the Egyptians separately for it was an abomination for the Egyptians to eat with Hebrews.
NOTE: You can see the underlying animosity that easily can turn a new king and court against the Israelites.
33And they sat before him… according to birthright from oldest to youngest. And the men looked at one another in amazement. – Reminds me of The Princess Bride, when Spanish fencing master Inigo Montoya who is seeking revenge on a man with six fingers on his right hand who killed his father, says to The Masked Man in Black, AKA The Bread Pirate Roberts, AKA Westley, “Who Are You? Westley says, “No one of consequence,” and Inigo says, “I must know,” and The Masked Westley says, “Prepare to be disappointed.”
34Portions were taken to them from Joseph’s table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. And they drank and were merry with him.
Regarding Egyptians considering it an abomination to dine with Hebrews, Rawlinson’s Herodotus informs us (ii. 41), that “male kind, if clean, are used by the Egyptians, but the females they are not allowed to sacrifice, since they are sacred to Isis.” And he adds that “a native of Egypt will not kiss a Greek, use his knife, or his cauldron, or taste the flesh cut with a Greek knife.” They considered all foreigners unclean, and therefore, refused to eat with them.
They sat in Joseph’s presence; arranged according to the order of their birth, to their great amazement. Egypt was to them a land of wonders, and Joseph presented himself to them as Egypt’s sultan, a man of wonder. I wonder what they thought when they were served from Joseph’s table but could not eat from the Egyptians’ table?
(13) Joseph baits His Brothers to Hook Benjamin
Gen. 44:1-2 1Joseph commanded the steward of his house, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and give each man’s money back, 2and put my cup, the silver (expensive, ornate) cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, with his money for the grain.” And he did as Joseph told him.
His servant overtakes and accuses the brothers of theft, and they say, 9Whichever of your servants is found with it shall die, and we also will be my lord’s servants.” 10He said, “Let it be as you say: … 12And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13Then they tore their clothes (sign of great distress and grief), and every man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city. [bctt tweet=”Christ will intermingle and associate Himself with us, as “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” John 1:14.” username=”LibertyCF3″]
Gen. 44:14-15 14Judah and his brothers fell to the ground before Joseph. 15Joseph said to them, “Do you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination (use the cup to discern the truth)?”
Divining by cups, we learn from this, was a common custom in Egypt (Herodotus ii. 83), although we know Joseph communed with God for direction, by boasting that he is a magician rather than proclaiming himself a prophet of God, he further confuses his identity to his brothers. The practice of cup divination was common in Egypt in those times, and was a kind of clairvoyance, the bowl being partly filled with water, and the eye of the diviner fixed upon some one point in it till, wearied with gazing, inducing a state of half stupor, during which the mind, freed from the control of reason, acted in a dream like manner.
The brothers do not know that Joseph actually is a prophet of God, masking as the Egyptian magician he’s leading them to think he is. It is interesting to note that the false diviners went through quite an involved and lengthy process to discern what God speaks to Joseph in a dream, while he is resting.
(14) Gen. 44: 16 – 34 Judah confesses – “all have sinned and fallen short of god’s standard” & bargains to keep the brothers together
Gen. 44: 16 – 34 16And Judah said, “… how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found.” (Lev. chapter 4 and 5:17 explains sinning in ignorance still leads to guilt before God, and must be atoned.)
17…Joseph replies “Only the man [Benjamin] in whose hand the cup was found shall be my servant. But as for you, go up in peace to your father.” (Ezek 18:1 – 20, only the soul that sins shall die.)
18Then Judah pleads for Benjamin for his 22…his father’s sake, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’ …27 …my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. 28One left me, and … “Surely he has been torn to pieces…” 29If you take this one also from me, and harm happens to him, you will bring down my gray hairs in evil to Sheol.’
(15) Gen. 44: 32 – 34 Judah, like Jesus Barters Himself For Benjamin
32For your servant became a pledge of safety (KJV = surety) for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father all my life.’ 33Now therefore, please let your servant remain [a hostage] instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers. 34For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the evil that would find my father.”
God models through Judah, what Christ will do by becoming surety for us.
Christ will intermingle and associate Himself with us, as “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” John 1:14.
He will become surety for us by bearing the responsibility for our sins and being the security against the damages and payment of death we owe for them (Rom 6:32 – wages of sin is death).
(16) Yellow Not in Notes) Gen. 44: 32–34 Judah Transforms from Bargaining to sell Joseph To Bartering himself for Benjamin
32For your servant became a pledge of safety (KJV = surety) for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father all my life.’ 33Now therefore, please let your servant remain [a hostage] instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers. 34For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the evil that would find my father.”
God models through Judah, what Christ will do by becoming surety for us.
Christ will intermingle and associate Himself with us, as “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” John 1:14.
He will become surety for us by bearing the responsibility for our sins and being the security against the damages and payment of death we owe for them (Rom 6:32 – wages of sin is death).
(18) Let’s Pray that God Re-Awakens, Re–Invigorates & Re-Establish Us in Our Calls In Christ!
Let’s Pray:
Thank You for showing us how You transformed Judah’s life, as an example of how You can transform our lives.
Grant us the grace and capacity for us to submit to You and Your mighty tremendous work in our lives so we can do Your work Your Way!
For You Are “I Am” and in You and only You, do our lives find fulfillment. [email-download-link namefield=”YES” id=”284″]
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]