43 I should say and we'll finish the entire chapter here today and the name
the sermon is Joseph reunited with Benjamin Joseph reunited with Benjamin
now of course he just saw his brothers in the last chapter but the one brother
he did not see his full brother was Benjamin and he's going to see his full
brother here in Genesis 43 and the Bible says here in verse 1 and the
famine was sore in the land and it came to pass when they had eaten up the
corn which they had brought out of Egypt their father said unto them go
again buy us a little food so when the Bible says the famine was sore it means it's
it's a huge famine there's a huge lack of food and then it gets to the point
where Jacob says you know what I want you to go and buy food now he's
allowing some time to go by because it's not a safe trip and you know he's
kind of delaying the inevitable and you have to realize that Simeon is behind
bars at this moment remember last week Reuben did not go behind bars but the
second oldest brother Simeon did which I think shows a lack of character on
Reuben's part but Simeon is behind bars and you know you obviously Jacob
wants to see his son Simeon but you know there's an expression in the US it's
called better is the devil I see than the devil I don't see and I'm not
saying this is a good expression but the idea is you know better is the
devil I see if you see a situation that's not good but you learn to deal
with it it's better than taking a risk of something that could be worse and
you know what this often comes up when the political season comes around this
expression comes out a lot because pretty much everybody says it is
politicians horrible but the alternative could be worse and we've
learned to deal with this and we can handle this and so Jacob's learned to
be without his son Simeon and he's kind of just accepting it because he
says I can't risk losing more children I can't risk losing Benjamin verse 3
and Judah spake on him saying the man did solemnly protest on to us saying he
shall not see my face except your brother be with you the brother in
reference to Benjamin if thou wilt send our brother with us we will go
down and buy thee food but if thou wilt not send him will not go down for the
man said on to us he shall not see my face except your brother be with
you and so Judah basically steps into the leadership role here and you
know what you're looking at Judah who would be the third oldest brother
that is here right now you've got Ruben and you've got Levi where
Simeon is behind bars but Judah kind of elevates himself as the
leader of the group and he says you know what we'll go down if you
bring Benjamin dad but if not we're not going to go down I don't
believe that Judah is being disrespectful this is not a 10 year
old talking to their father this is a grown man who is not completely
under the authority of his father at this point I mean obviously
respects his father Jacob but he's a grown man he's an adult and
he's just saying you know what hey dad we can't do that it's
just not a good idea you know we'll go down if you bring Benjamin
not then you know we're just going to have to deal with this verse
6 and Israel said obviously Israel referring to Jacob and Israel
said wherefore dealt ye so ill with me as to tell the man whether
he had yet yet a brother now obviously this is it is kind of
unfair to blame the sons because it's not their fault they
would have never known that Joseph would have asked you know
do you have a younger brother or the man bringing the younger
brother obviously Jacob's a grieving father and he's kind of
just pouring out his complaints and kind of blaming you
know his sons even though it's not really their fault he's
like why did you let them know that there was another
brother verse 7 and they said the man asked us straightly
of our state in our kindred saying is your father yet
alive have you another brother and we told him according
to the tenor of these words could we certainly know that
he would say bring your brother down now of course the
reason why Joseph specifically asked about is your father
yet alive and have you another brother is because the
two people that Joseph cares about in his family are his
brother Benjamin and his father Jacob now when I read
these chapters I don't want to get ahead of myself
preaching is we're going to see it in the chapters
coming up I feel like he has this really strong love
for Benjamin and when I'm reading this he seems like
he's kind of in between on his father Jacob has this
love and he wants to see Jacob but he has a bit of
mixed emotions that's the way it kind of comes across
to me but of course he specifically asked because he
does care about his dad and he does care about his
brother Benjamin verse 8 and Judas said unto Israel's
father send the lad with me and we will rise and go
that we may live and not die both we and now and
also our little ones I will be surety for him of
my hand shalt I require him if I bring him not
unto thee and set up before thee then let me bear
the blame forever and Judas says I will be surety
I will make sure I take care of him I will be
responsible this terminology of surety is is sometimes
mentioned in financial things so for example somebody
gets a loan and let's say they can't really
they don't have the credit they don't have the
background to get the loan on their own in the
banks going to deny them if somebody else cosigns
on the loan it's kind of an older term to use
for this like you know being surety basically
they're saying I will cosign I'm not the main
person but if they cannot end up paying I will
be the one responsible and so what Judas basically
stating is you know what if anything happens if
anything happens I will be the one responsible
and I will bear the blame forever now if you
remember last week we saw that Ruben said you
know what if I don't bring him back just kill
my sons right slay my sons now that that is
just a stupid thing to say because why would
Jacob want to kill his grandsons right
and that's that's just dumb obviously no matter
what takes place he's not going to murder
his grandsons right and so what Judas saying
is hey you know what I realize that if it
doesn't go well and we lose Benjamin obviously
he's not going to kill me or any of us
because he loves us but you know what you
can be bitter and hate me and blame me for
the rest of your life I will be the one
responsible and you know what he's basically
stepping up to the plate and saying any
consequence just bring it to me right anyway
if Judah in the Bible is an interesting
character because he's not always a clean
and perfect person we saw that several
chapters earlier but he's showing really
strong character here because he's saying
I will be responsible anyway this is the
characteristic trait you need of someone
who's a leader where they basically say you
know what if things do not go well I will
be responsible right I mean isn't that what
we need in two thousand and twenty three
for fathers in their homes saying you
know what I'm the one who's responsible
as for me and my house will serve the
Lord and so if our family doesn't serve
the Lord I'm responsible why I'm the
leader right and if you're the leader
you must be willing to accept the blame
if things don't work out I've said it
this way a good leader will share the
credit and take the blank he said well
why is that because if things go well
it's a joint effort now things go badly
yeah that's also a joint effort but
here's the thing if you're five percent
responsible or ten percent responsible
you're responsible right I mean if you
raise up kids and they do not love
God right whether you're a father or
mother you are at least partially to blame
for what took place right and what Judah
is saying is you know what I will bear
the blame if things do not work out
it's my fault and attorney look at
verse number ten verse ten he says
for except we had lingered surely
now we had returned the second time
and what what Judah stating is that
you know lingering means to kind of
wait around and just you know not
do anything and he's saying if we
had just gone back immediately we
would already be back and he's saying
you know what it's just going to get
worse at this point because obviously
realize this if a lot of people are
going to Egypt for food there's always
the possibility they're going to run
out of food right and so what he's
saying is hey let's go now and get
this done because it's only going to
get worse it's only going to get more
dangerous right is like you know we
would have already been back at this
point and their father Israel said
unto them if it must be so now do
this he's saying if there is no other
option then do this take of the best
fruits in the land in your vessels and
carry down the man a present a little
bomb and a little honey spices and
mirror nets nuts and almonds and take
double money in your hand and the
money that was brought again in the
mouth of your sacks carried again in
your hand for adventure was an
oversight take also your brother and
arise go again onto the man and
God Almighty give you mercy before
the man that he may send away your
other brother and Benjamin if I be
bereaved of my children I am bereaved
and what Jacob says is you know
what if anything takes place my
children that's the way it's going to
be he's like you know what we have
no other option now in verse 14 it
says and God Almighty give you
mercy before the man and so when
Jacob refers to God and he names
him he says God Almighty now turn
your Bible to Exodus chapter 6 Exodus
6 Exodus chapter 6 and in fact as
you're reading through the book of
Genesis this is what you're going
to see you're going to see God
Almighty God Almighty God Almighty
God Almighty which is actually a
name and so the attribute of
being Almighty or omnipotent or all
powerful you know the idea of is
there anything too hard for the
Lord is attached to the name of
God and so the name is describing
one of his attributes the fact
that he is all powerful and so
of course when we're thinking
of God one of the first things
you think of I would probably say
the first is that God is all
powerful obviously God is omnipresent
and God is omniscient but the
first thing I think of of being
God is all powerful and when
you're saying God Almighty you're
saying that he is all powerful
he is the one he is the
omnipotent God right but that's
not the only name of God in
the Bible that's what it says
in Exodus 6 verse 1 then the
Lord said unto Moses now shalt
thou see what I will do to
Pharaoh with a strong hand
shall he let them go and
with a strong hand shall he
drive them out of his land and
God spake unto Moses and said
unto him I am the Lord and
I appeared unto Abraham unto
Isaac and unto Jacob by the
name of God Almighty but by
my name Jehovah was I not
known to them and he said if
you had asked Abraham what's
my name he would have said
God Almighty and if you had
mentioned Jehovah Abraham would
be like what are you talking
about because he was not
revealed by the name of
Jehovah yet if you had
asked Isaac he would have
said God Almighty if you had
talked to Jacob you'd say
God Almighty if you came to
them with the name of
Jehovah they'd be like you
know they'd have no idea
about it right same thing
if you had said Abraham hey
you know what do you
believe in Jesus it'd be
like you know what are
you talking about because
that name was not yet
revealed and so here's the
thing not all the names
of God were revealed at the
beginning of the Bible so if
you talk to people 2500
years ago you talked to
Daniel he wouldn't know
the name Jesus right but
now that name is
revealed now here's the
thing about this when a
new name of God is
revealed the new name
does not replace the
old name the new name
this is very important the
new name does not replace
the old name you see
one name of God today is
God Almighty why because
the name was not replaced
see God is still Almighty
God is still omnipotent and
you're going to see that
these names of God you
know what obviously the
big name in the New
Testament is Jesus okay
but here's the thing the
name God Almighty is still
a name of God he's still
all powerful okay the
name Jehovah is still a
name of God what's interesting
is you've got the
Jehovah's Witnesses and
they will say the only
name of God is Jehovah
now it's interesting
because there is the
name before Jehovah God
Almighty and they just
seem to ignore that and
they say it's always
Jehovah Jehovah Jehovah
so they replace God
Almighty with Jehovah but
then they refused to
replace Jehovah when a
new name comes out Jesus
right it's like well why
don't you just replace
Jehovah now here's the
thing we don't replace
God Almighty we don't
replace Jehovah we just
say you know what more
has been revealed about
who God is okay now let
me let me show actually
you know and we'll look
at this and talk about
this for a while actually
you know go to 1 John 5
I'm going to add some
stuff on my notes 1 John
chapter 5 verse 20
1 John chapter 5 verse 20
and it says in 1 John
5 20 and we know that
the Son of God has
come okay now when it
says the Son of God
here who's this referring
to you know Apollo
Kibale just making sure
you're awake right
obviously Jesus Christ
right we're referring to
the Son of God Jesus
Christ and we know that
the Son of God has
come and have given us
an understanding that we
may know him that is
true and we are in him
that is true even in his
son Jesus Christ this
is the true God and
eternal life and when
you're really looking
at this verse and
really reading it it's
really kind of confusing
because talks about the
Son of God and yet the
Son of God is the
true God right you
say what's the Bible
saying here well the
Bible saying that Jesus
Christ is the true
God now throughout the
Old Testament don't you
see a belief in the
true God the true God
you also see the living
God the living God so
when Jesus Christ is
saying I am the way the
truth what he's stating
is I'm the true God
right I'm the way the
truth in the life the
living God he's saying
that's me I am the
life he says I am the
resurrection in the life
talk about having power
to lay down his life
and bring it back again
the Bible specifically
says that Jesus
resurrected himself from
the dead so the Bible
saying here in 1 John
5 verse 20 that Jesus
is the true God right
this is a great verse
to prove the deity of
our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ and here's
the thing though this
is not stating that you
know look at verse
number 7 verse 7 also
very famous verse for
there are three that
bear record in heaven
the Father God the
Father the Word God
the Son and the Holy
Ghost and these three
are one obviously we
believe in the Trinity
what we believe is that
God has always and
always will eternally
exist in three persons
right always three not
two not four but
three you can say
well you know God can
do whatever he wants
so God can become like
at a fourth person no
God is is three right
God is one and God
is three in the very
nature of God and of
course he made us as
body soul and spirit for
a reason okay and so
God is three and yet
God is one what it
says in first John
five twenty is that
Jesus Christ is the
true God okay go to
Philippians two Philippians
two Philippians chapter
two Philippians two
verse nine where for
God also have highly
exalted him and given
him a name notice this
which is a above every
name above every name
right which is above
every name that the
name of Jesus every
knee should bow of
things in heaven and
things in Earth and
things under the Earth
and that every tongue
should confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord
to the glory of God
the father this doesn't
mean the name Jehovah's
not significant it doesn't
mean that the name
God Almighty is not
significant but here's
the thing when we talk
about salvation it's
about do you believe
on Jesus Christ and
see a lot of people
would say I believe in
God Almighty I mean
a Jew would say they
believe in God Almighty
right Islam would say
they believe in God
Almighty problem is they
don't believe on Jesus
Christ and the name
above every name the
Bible says is Jesus go
back to Exodus 6 Exodus
6 Exodus chapter 6 when
you talk to Jehovah's
witnesses they will tell
you that the name
Jehovah is the only
name of God and they
will also say that the
name Jehovah was taken
out of our Bible okay
now I want you to
notice something in verse
number two okay Exodus
6 verse 2 in God's
big on the Moses said
on them I am the Lord
now notice that word
Lord you have a capital
L you have a capital
O you have a capital
R you have a capital
D when you see Lord
in the Bible sometimes
it's all capital sometimes
it's capital L lower
case O lower case R
lower case D okay you
say why is it what's
the difference the
capital L the capital
O the capital R the
capital D is Jehovah
God okay the YHWH
okay it's the Jehovah
God here when you
see the capital L capital
O capital R capital D
and so the question
comes up okay why
is it the name Jehovah
is sometimes removed
from the King James
Bible but not all
the time because in
verse 2 it's not
removed right I mean
in verse 2 when they
translated it because
we believe the King
James Bible is perfect
and in verse 2 when
they translated they
translated it capital
L capital O capital
R capital D but then
in verse 3 they said
Jehovah and what
you're going to find
is that 7 times in
your King James
Bible you see the
name Jehovah out
of all the times it
would translate it capital
L capital O capital
R capital D and then
7 times it
translates it as Jehovah
of course the question
would be well why
did they do that why
did they just always
translate it as capital
L capital O capital R
capital D or why
did they not just keep
it the same as Jehovah
right well to
to be honest they
would have just changed
it every time except
the 7 times we're
going to look at all
7 examples if they
had not changed it
or kept it as Jehovah
it would actually be
confusing okay and
so notice what it
says in verse 3
and I appeared onto
Abraham onto Isaac
and onto Jacob by
the name of God
Almighty but by my
name Jehovah was I
not known to them
now if you had
translated this as
Lord but by my
name Lord was I
not known to them
that would be
confusing you
said why because
the term Lord is
actually used in many
countries they'll call
someone Lord whatever
being like a ruler
but they don't call
them Jehovah something
right and so if it
said by my name Lord
was I not known to
them well that doesn't
make a whole lot of
sense because the
word Lord is
throughout the Bible
as capital L lowercase
ORD because that's a
term given I mean
Sarah called her
husband Lord the
Bible says right
referred to him as
Lord and so then it
translated it as
capital L capital
O capital R capital
D it'd be confusing
because they would
have referred to God
as Lord right now
turn your Bible to
Genesis 22 Genesis
22 I mean Lord
just means boss right
Lord means boss
look obviously this
gets gets complicated
when you're translating
from one language to
a next but I'm
showing you why because
the Jehovah's Witness
might come up to
you and they might
ask you that question
you know why is it
that they changed
but they didn't change
in these seven
instances right why
is it that these
seven times they kept
it as Jehovah and
that's a good
question why is it
the Bible did not
translate it as
Lord in those instances
Genesis 22 verse 14
and Abraham called
the name of that
place Jehovah Jireh
as it is said to
this day in the
Mount of the Lord
it shall be seen
so in this verse
you see the capital
L capital O capital
R capital D but
then right before
that it doesn't say
Lord Jireh it
says Jehovah Jireh
well why would
they not translate
this as Lord Jireh
because you don't
change the name of
a place right
think of think of
Rio de Janeiro
Brazil right which
translates as river
of January nobody
knows it as river
of January right
right if you said
you know what you
know the city in
Brazil the famous
city river of
January what you
know it as Rio
de Janeiro Brazil
right where they
got that massive
statue of Jesus you
don't change the
name as you go from
one language to
a next you keep
the name of a
place the same right
you know you know
of in for example
this is Anjalee
City and that's
the exact same as
Los Angeles but you
know Los Angeles as
Los Angeles the
city of angels the
city of angels but
you call it Los
Angeles you wouldn't
say Anjalee City
in California you
say Los Angeles
California right or
you'd say Anjalee
City here you wouldn't
change it to Los
Angeles okay Rio
de Janeiro you
don't change it to
river of January
doesn't really sound
that good river
of January right
wouldn't make a
lot of sense go
to Exodus 17 so
it makes sense Jehovah
Jireh not Lord
Jireh because you
don't change the
name of a place.
But obviously the
translators are
not idiots I mean
we looked at multiple
verses where it
does translate it
it does change it
then it doesn't
change it obviously
they had a reason
and I'm just kind
of showing you these
seven times the
reason I would say
they do not translate
it as Lord that
makes sense Jehovah
Jireh you're not
going to change the
name of a place
okay Exodus 17 verse
15 in Moses build
an altar and call
the name of it
Jehovah Nissi so
there's an actual
name given to this
older and so he
gives it this name
and of course
they're just going
to keep it the
same right you're
not going to change
the Nissi to something
else so you're
not going to I mean
Lord Nissi would
be confusing it's like
well no just Jehovah
Nissi okay go
to Judges 6 Judges
chapter 6 Judges 6
verse 24 then
Gideon build an
altar there on to
the Lord and call
it Jehovah Shalom on
to this day it is
yet an opera of the
visa rights so once
again in order is
given and it's
given a name and
it's not called
Lord Shalom because
it would make no
sense to change
half of it not
change the other
half so when the
translators did this
they keep it as
you have Jehovah
Jiver Jehovah Nissi
Jehovah Shalom right
but in that same
verse you have the
capital L capital
O capital R capital
D okay now turn
your Bible to
Psalm 83 Psalm 83
now they don't do
this exact same way
in some languages
like for example
the Spanish Bible
the 1602 is the
first good Bible
that they had
recently they've had
a reign of reign of
lara Gomez and my
understanding it's
always hell about
hell by hell by
hell by so like in
Spanish is testigo
the hill by is
Jehovah's Witness
and hell by is
Jehovah and they
translated as hell
by hell by hell by
but when they
translated in the
English language
it's Lord Lord
Lord Lord but
these seven instances
it just would not
make sense to
translate it as
Lord you wouldn't
change the name
of a place it
wouldn't have made
sense to say but
I mean my
name Lord was
I not known to
them it'd be like
it doesn't make
sense because
God is Lord
that's the term
given to other
people these
three instances of
a place or an
altar you're
not going to
change the name
Psalm 83 this
is the famous
one that Jehovah's
Witnesses love
Psalm 83 verse
16 fill their
faces with shame
that they may
seek thy name
Oh Lord capital
L capital
O capital R capital
B D this is
Jehovah God
right capital
L capital
O capital
R capital
D let them
be confounded
in trouble
forever you let
them be put to
shame in
Paris Psalm
83 verse
18 so many
three verse
18 that men
may know that
thou whose
name alone is
Jehovah are
at the most high
over all the
earth now
when Jehovah's
Witnesses look
at this verse
the way they
interpret this is
that the only
name the
only name of
God is Jehovah
right and
yet we see
the name God
Almighty right
so why would
you say the
only name of
God is Jehovah
that's not the
only name of
God or the
Bible speaks about
in the book of
Psalms by his
name job which
job the
JAH is the
last three letters
of the word
Hallelujah so
that's about
praising the
Lord that's
the context
there there's
many names of
God right you
could preach a
sermon on the
names of
God in the
significance
because every
name has a
significance God
Almighty that
he's all
powerful okay
and they interpret
this while his
only name is
Jehovah well
that's not
true because
we know the
name Jesus we
know the name
God Almighty we
know the
name job that
is not his
only name what
this is saying
is he's the
only one whose
name is
Jehovah now
here's the
thing it
wouldn't really
make sense to
say well whose
name alone is
Lord when
Sarah called
Abraham Lord
and that's
a term given
to some people
they use the
term Lord it
wouldn't really
make a lot
of sense even
though if
you're reading
it it's capital
L capital
old capital
R capital
D and that's
different than
capital L lower
case O lower
case R lower
case D the
thing is though
when the
word is
spoken and
I said well
whose name
alone is
Lord and it's
like he's
not the one
whose only
name is
Lord that
wouldn't really
make a lot
of sense but
if you say
whose name
alone is
Jehovah well
that does
make sense
right are
the most
high over
all the
earth turn
your Bible
Isaiah twelve
two more
instances
Isaiah
twelve
Isaiah
chapter twelve
so there
would be
nothing
wrong with
saying that
Jesus is
God almighty
nothing
wrong with
saying that
Jesus is
Jehovah because
the names
of God
are not
done and
obviously
Jesus
is
God
right
Isaiah twelve
verse one
and in
that day
thou shalt
say
Oh
Lord
capital
L
capital
O
capital
R
capital
D
I will
praise
thee
though
thou
was
angry
with
me
thine
anger
is
turned
away
and
now
comfort
is
me
and
by
the
and
as
I'm
going
through
these
seven
instances
where
they
translate
it
as
Jehovah
I'm
just
giving
you the
reason
why
I do
not
believe
they
translated
as
what
makes
sense
to
me
I
mean
I
think
all
these
makes
sense
you
know
you
might
come
up
with
another
reason
why
they
chose
not
to
translate
it
as
Lord
in
that
instance
I'm
just
showing
you
what
my
thoughts
are
my
as
I'm
reading
this
verse
two
behold
God
is
my
salvation
I
will
trust
and
not
be
afraid
for
the
Lord
Jehovah
is
my
strength
in
my
song
he
also
and
of
course
you
think
of
Jesus
being
salvation
and
of
course
our
Lord
and
Savior
of
Jesus
Christ
but
look
it
would
not
make
a
lot
of
sense
to
say
in
verse
two
for
the
Lord
right
now
when
you
say
Lord
Jehovah
and
you
use
different
terms
it
adds
like
an
extra
emphasis
but
it kind
of
adds
extra
inferences
because
you know
even
though
its
the
capital
D
you say
Lord
is
kind
of
like
the
boss
Jehovah
is
what
you're
thinking
Lord
Jehovah
but
if
you
said
Lord
it's
like
that's
confusing
go
to
Isaiah
26
Isaiah
26
Isaiah
26
one
last
instance
one
Well, this is a question probably a lot of us,
I mean, probably everybody wonders this from time to time
because you know, you've heard, you know,
Jehovah God, Jehovah God,
and yet it doesn't appear a whole lot in the Bible,
but it appears a few times.
And then of course you're thinking,
well, why would it appear sometimes and not other times?
Isaiah 26, verse three,
thou wilt keep him in perfect peace
whose name is stayed on thee
because he trusteth in thee.
Trust he in the Lord forever,
capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D,
for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.
So once again, Lord Jehovah,
you wouldn't say Lord, Lord, okay?
Go back to Genesis 43.
Genesis 43.
Genesis chapter 43.
And so when Jacob refers to God in verse 14,
he says, and God Almighty,
God all powerful, God omnipotent,
give you mercy before the man
that he may send away your other brother,
and Benjamin, if I be bereaved of my children,
I am bereaved.
And the men took that present
and they took double money in their hand and Benjamin
and rose up and went down to Egypt
and stood before Joseph.
And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them,
he said to the ruler of his house,
bring these men home and slay and make ready
for these men shall dine with me at noon.
And the men did as Joseph bade
and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.
And the men were afraid
because they were brought into Joseph's house.
And they said, because of the money
that was returned in our sacks
and at the first time when we brought in,
that he may seek a cation against us
and fall upon us and take us for bond men
and our asses.
And so, I mean, they're afraid
because here's the thing,
they're going to buy food
and then Joseph says, I'm gonna eat a meal with you,
right?
That's pretty strange because obviously
Joseph is not gonna eat meals with other people
that are begging for food and getting food.
And yet here you see in Genesis 43
that Joseph says, you know what?
I'm gonna dine with them at noon.
And of course they're thinking,
I mean, what is he gonna do to us?
Is he gonna kill us?
I mean, what is he gonna do?
Because this is a very strange thing
when he's saying that he's gonna dine with them.
Verse 19,
and they came near to the steward of Joseph's house
and they communed with him at the door of the house
and said, oh, sir, we came indeed down
at the first time to buy food.
And it came to pass when we came to the end
that we opened our sacks and behold,
every man's money was in the mouth of his sack,
our money in full weight
and we have brought it again in our hands.
In other money have we brought down in our hands
to buy food.
We cannot tell who put our money in our sacks.
And he said, peace be to you,
fear not your God and the God of your father
hath given you treasure in your sacks.
I had your money and he brought Simeon out onto them.
So Joseph says, you know what?
God is the one that blessed you.
And he said, you know what?
I, you know, he gave you that money
and then he brings back Simeon onto them.
Verse 24,
and the man brought the men into Joseph's house
and gave them water and they washed their feet
and he gave their asses provender.
They made ready the present against Joseph came at noon
for they heard that they should eat bread there.
When Joseph came home, they brought him the present
which was in their hand into the house
and bow themselves to him to the earth.
So they're being very respectful to Joseph.
Obviously they want to make sure
that everything goes well.
I mean, Jacob said, bring all of these things
as a present.
I want to make sure everything goes okay.
And notice verse 27.
And he asked them of their welfare and said,
is your father well?
Obviously Joseph cares about Jacob.
You know, he says, is your father well?
Is he doing okay?
The old man of whom he spake, is he yet alive?
Look, this is not a normal thing
that somebody would be doing as they're selling food.
Like, oh, how's your father doing?
Right, you wouldn't be having a meal with them
and you wouldn't ask, how's your father doing?
It would be basically, yeah, you know what?
Just give us the money.
We'll give you the food, right?
And so obviously Joseph has a love for his father, Jacob.
And of course we're gonna see this develop
as the chapters go on.
He says, is he alive?
How is he doing?
And the answer, thy servant our father is in good health.
He is yet alive.
And they bowed down their heads and made obeisance.
And he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin,
his mother's son, and said,
is this your younger brother of whom he spake unto me?
And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.
Now you say, why is he asking, is this Benjamin?
Well, he hasn't seen Benjamin in 20 plus years.
And if Joseph was 17 and Benjamin was younger,
we don't really know the exact age of Benjamin.
Let's just say he was seven years younger than Joseph.
Cause I really don't know,
but he's obviously younger than Joseph.
I mean, if he was 10 years old and now he's 30,
it would be kind of hard to fully recognize him.
Now I'm sure though, I mean, if I looked at my sister,
I mean, she looks a lot like me, right?
I mean, you can certainly see a resemblance
between me and my sister, right?
I mean, you have sons and daughters.
There's gonna be a resemblance between all of them, right?
You can see them and say, hey, you know what?
I can see, you know what?
That's my sister, right?
Or you can look at your parents and say,
I can see that's my dad.
I can see that's my mom.
There's a resemblance, there's similarities.
But at the same time, he's not 100% for sure,
because he hasn't seen him in 20 plus years.
And of course he would assume this is the younger brother
because there's one other person there.
And he's gonna assume it's gonna be Benjamin.
But of course, you know what?
They could have just brought somebody else and said,
hey, this is our younger brother, right?
But obviously they don't do that.
They actually bring Benjamin and he can recognize him.
Verse 30, and Joseph made haste
for his vows did yearn upon his brother.
And he saw it were to weep
and he entered into his chamber and wept there.
So Joseph knows this is his brother Benjamin
and he's just immediately gonna lose it.
And so before he cries in front of them,
he just leaves, goes to a private place
and he just is crying because he's excited
and happy to see his brother Benjamin,
overwhelmed with emotions.
And he washed his face and went out
and refrained himself and said, set on bread.
And they set on for him by himself
and for them by themselves and for the Egyptians
which did eat with him by themselves.
Because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews
but that is an abomination onto the Egyptians.
And what the Bible says here
is that the Egyptians did not eat bread with the Hebrews.
And you know, the question is,
well, why is it that they refuse to eat with the Hebrews?
And it says it is an abomination to the Egyptians
to eat with the Hebrews, right?
Now I've got some articles pulled up here
of what people say, and I'm just gonna tell you
why I believe they did not eat with the Hebrews.
I think it's because they have a different religion.
That's the reason why.
I think it's an abomination to the Egyptians
because it's like, we believe in the Egyptian gods
and what's the message of the Hebrew God?
Because it doesn't say that it would be an abomination
to eat with any other groups of people.
It says with the Hebrews, you say,
well, what's the difference?
Because the Hebrews would have said, no, no, no, no.
It's not our God or your God.
Everyone has a different religion
and they all lead up to heaven.
No, no, no, no.
Our God's the true God.
Our God is the one living God.
Your God is a dead God, is a false God.
And obviously they would know,
well, that's the opinion of the Hebrews, right?
Now, obviously if you don't say anything,
maybe people won't get offended.
But if you start talking about your God,
they're gonna be offended.
Right?
I mean, try to sit down and have a meal with a Muslim
and say, hey, you know what?
Jesus, you have to believe in Jesus.
You're gonna go to hell.
Well, that's not exactly gonna be a pleasant meal, right?
It's not like they would really wanna have a meal with us,
nor would we really wanna have a meal with them either.
Why?
Because we believe different things.
Because you know what?
When you're having a meal together,
there's a fellowship involved.
There's a bonding.
Now, obviously I'm not saying it's wrong
to go to lunch with a coworker,
especially if you have the intention
of trying to give them the gospel.
But I would say if you're having a meal together
and it's just, hey, we're just kind of
fellowshipping as friends.
It's like, well, the message of Christianity
is that you should not be close to opinions
with other people of different beliefs.
And obviously that would be the same message
for the Hebrews.
And obviously the Egyptians looked at this and said,
you know what?
They've got their God.
We've got our God.
We do not wanna be that close.
You know, they're being respectful, but it's like,
we're not gonna sit down and have a meal together
because our God is different than your God.
Now, that's my opinion.
That's not really what you read in other articles.
I'm gonna read what it says in different articles,
which they use a lot of history,
which I think is pretty speculative,
but this is what it says.
Why is it an abomination to Egypt?
And they also bring up the fact that, you know,
a shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians,
which is gonna be mentioned later on
in the book of Genesis.
Well, obviously you think of the one chief shepherd,
Jesus Christ, the Bible mentions,
and shepherd is a word synonymous with pastor,
which is a term used both in the Old Testament
and the New Testament,
actually more times in the Old Testament.
And I think the idea is, yeah, you know what?
They have a different God than us.
So they're against shepherds.
They're against the God of the Hebrews.
It says available explanations of the causes
for Egyptian sense of abomination in Genesis 43 verse 32,
Genesis 46 verse 34, and Exodus 822
are either too general or incorrect.
It is suggested that in Genesis 43 verse 32,
the sense of abomination possibly stems
from the melodious woolen garments worn by the Hebrews.
So according to this, you know,
maybe the hatred is because of the clothing
of the Hebrews, right?
I guess what it's stating is,
well, they've got woolen garments
and we've got gods of animals,
so we'll be offended if there is a woolen garment, okay?
Now, I don't believe this interpretation.
This is what it says though.
In Genesis 46 verse 34,
it is perhaps a combination of basic farmer
slash shepherd distaste and hatred
stemming from an association of shepherds
with the barbaric nomadic chieftains
on Egypt's northeastern border.
And in Exodus 8 verse 22,
it might be driven by the Hebrew's custom
of burning portions of animals sacrificed to a deity.
These suggestions, while speculative,
have a cease and live in context.
An introduction, Genesis 43 verse 32,
tells that Joseph hosted his brothers
as well as some Egyptian officials for dinner.
The acceding's arrangements were however unusual.
They served him by himself and them by themselves
and the Egyptians who ate with them by themselves.
And so it kind of goes on and on
for different possible reasons.
I'm sorry, but here's the thing.
When you're reading your Bible,
it's like, you know what?
Obviously when it talks about the Hebrews
being an abomination to the Egyptians,
multiple times being a shepherd's an abomination,
eating with them's an abomination.
It's like, we can just look at our Bible
and figure out, well,
why would it be an abomination to them?
I think it's a very obvious reason
because of the God of the Hebrews, right?
I mean, it's one thing
if there's someone who's not really zealous
about what they believe,
but look, people,
if they knew what we believe
and how zealously we believed it,
they wouldn't want to have a meal with us either, right?
They'd have a meal with a lot of Baptists,
but not with Verity Baptist Church, right?
I mean, is that not true?
I mean, they say it's an abomination.
I mean, even a lot of Baptists,
even a lot of Baptists
would not want to have a meal with us, right?
The feeling is generally mutual, right?
I mean, now if somebody's a fellow like-minded believer,
I'd set aside differences, have a meal with them.
I wouldn't have a problem with that,
but you know what?
It's like, you know what?
If you're very zealous of what you believe,
it offends people.
They don't want to have a meal with them
because of what they believe.
Makes perfect sense to me
because we understand that just in our modern day,
that if someone has a different religion,
it's kind of like, you know what?
Our closest friends are those
that go to church with us, right?
The closest friends that we have in this world
are those that we fellowship with,
those that we go to church with.
Look, the closest friends of my children
are the children in this room.
And of course, they're friends
with the children in Manila as well,
but quite honestly, they're around the children here
more in Pampanga,
so the closest friends my children have
are the children of this church, right?
The closest friends that I have
are the people of this church
because I'm around the people of this church.
Now, I mean, I have neighbors that are nice people.
I say hello to them.
I walk by them and everything,
but I realize at the end of the day,
well, they have a different religion than me.
I mean, how close am I gonna be
with someone who has a different religion, right?
And they also quote from Josephus.
Josephus is a famous historian,
which for whatever reason,
people take everything he says
as like a fact of what he says.
And he says that,
he says that he skips the detail
of the Egyptians being unable to eat with the Hebrews
in his commentary on this.
And, you know, he goes on and on
and talks about, well, maybe they had a different menu.
They had different styles of food.
So it's like, you know, well, you know,
we don't like to eat the same types of food.
I think that's ridiculous, right?
I think it's pretty obvious the reason why
is because, well, you know what?
We're gonna be respectful to them, right?
Just like, look, I would be respectful
to a Muslim that I saw in public.
I'm not gonna be rude to them.
I mean, if there's a Muslim at a line,
you know, at a grocery store,
I'm not gonna be rude to them.
I'll be respectful to them.
But at the same time,
I'm not gonna sit down and have a meal with them.
And I'm sure they would feel the same way.
I mean, a Muslim is most likely gonna be respectful to us
even if they know that we're very zealous
about what we believe.
But do you think they wanna have a meal with us?
Obviously not, right?
You know, I'll be respectful, you know,
to a Hindu that I see.
I'll be respectful.
I'll be courteous to them.
But I'm not gonna wanna sit down
and have a meal with them
in front of a statue of Shiva or something, right?
I mean, you sit down and have a meal with a Muslim
and whoops, it's one of the five times of prayer.
Wait, we gotta stop and just pray to Mecca.
It's like, all right, I'm outta here, right?
This is just weird, right?
You know, it's like, obviously it goes, you know,
going past the point of being respectful.
You don't wanna be too close.
And obviously the Egyptians felt the same way.
At this time, Egypt rules the world.
I mean, they feel like we are the best in the world
and it's like, our gods are the true gods.
This is a true religion.
And so when the Hebrews are the one religion
that's very zealously against it,
they're not gonna wanna be that close with them.
Verse 33,
and they sat before him,
Genesis 43, verse 33, we'll close up.
And they sat before him,
the first born according to his birthright
and the youngest according to his youth
and the men marveled one another.
And he took and sent messes onto them from beforehand.
But Benjamin's mess was
five times, five times so much as any of theirs
and they drank and were married with him.
And so obviously there's a preferential treatment to Benjamin.
And you know, I'm assuming that this is one of those
things that the brothers in hindsight after these events,
once they understand it's Joseph,
they probably think back to,
oh, that's why he was always asking about our father.
That's why he was always asking about our brother.
That's why he seemed to be so friendly with Benjamin.
I mean, it's all gonna make sense.
You know, because often in life,
you look at things in hindsight,
you're like, oh, that makes sense now.
But obviously they don't understand this at this moment
because they have no idea that it is Joseph, right?
And so, you know, he sees Benjamin,
but you know, once again, I'll just state this
as we're looking chapter by chapter.
He doesn't just immediately want to become
just best friends with all of them.
He doesn't just say, all right, you know,
let's just, you know, put aside all differences
and hang out because I still feel like
there's some bitterness that's there.
And we're still gonna see that Judah is gonna plead
with Joseph later on when he talks about their father.
And that's kind of the moment of the breaking point.
At this point though,
I don't believe Joseph has reached that point
of a hundred percent forgiveness.
But I'll also state,
I don't think that I would have ever reached
a hundred percent forgiveness, to be honest.
I might've just basically said, okay, whatever, you know,
I want to see dad, I want to see my brother.
So, but I would not have just completely forgiven.
There's no doubt.
I'm not debating whether or not Joseph forgives them
because he certainly forgives them 100%.
There's no question about that.
I just don't think it's at this point
that he has reached that yet.
Let's go to the word of prayer.
Dear heavenly father,
thank you for allowing us to be here today
and getting to see this chapter.
Just a lot of great information
and help us try to just try to dig into the story
and kind of get a sense of the emotions
of all the characters involved
and what they're thinking, God,
and just kind of lessons that we can learn
from the story.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.