Don’t give up on 'the dream'

Friday 10th

Genesis 43

The story of Joseph is full of mystery and revelation. Joseph slowly begins to reveal his true identity to his brothers in a way that mystifies and tests them. Also woven into the story is the mysterious unveiling of God’s purposes.

Here are few things that are worth noting in the story:

• The self pity of Jacob (called Israel), who sees that himself as being treated “so badly” (v6), and is resignedly ‘fatalistic’ (v14). Not nice!

• The drunkenness of the brothers, who are more than “merry”. The Hebrew word translated as “merry” in verse 34, is a word that regularly refers to drunkenness. The Bible is recording, not condoning or commending this behaviour. Not mature!

• The secret activity of God, who is appealed to for “mercy” (v14) and who is said to have “put treasure in” the brother’s sacks when they found their money had been returned to them on the previous journey to buy grain in Egypt (v23). Very encouraging!

• The dreams of Joseph were fulfilled. More than twenty years earlier (Genesis 37:2; Genesis 41:46, 47), Joseph had dreamed that his brothers would bow down before him (Genesis 37:5-11). And at last the dreams were fulfilled (Genesis 43:26, 28; Genesis 42:6). If God reveals a ’secret thing’ to you, it will come to pass, but it may take time and there may be things that happen that are not included in the dream, like Joseph’s thirteen years of suffering, which came before his brothers bowed down before him. Patience and trust are required to not give up on the things God has said to us. Rather challenging!

• The rising pre-eminence of Judah as a Messianic sign. In many ways, Judah was not a great character. Years earlier he had been responsible for selling his brother, Joseph, as a slave (Genesis 37:25-28). Then the incident with a ‘prostitute' did not cover Judah with glory either (Genesis 38:12-26). But in Genesis 43:9, Judah takes personal responsibility and offers himself as a “pledge" for his brother Benjamin’s safety. (This is so much better than Rueben’s offer in Genesis 42:37.) The Faithlife Study Bible comments on this pledge and says that ‘Judah’s offer to exchange himself for Israel could be understood as a foreshadowing of the (substitutionary) Messiah coming from the tribe of Judah (Micah 5:2).’ Very Special!