'''CHAPTER NINETEEN: ISRAEL DWELLS IN EGYPT'''

CHAPTER NINETEEN

ISRAEL DWELLS IN EGYPT

When the brothers saw Egyptian chariots racing toward them, they knew the end was near. Outnumbered and having nowhere to run, the brothers prayed to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob more than they ever had before.

The Egyptian chariots and soldiers surrounded the brothers and drew out their weapons. Then Joseph’s chief servant stepped forward and pointed his fingers at the brothers.

“Why have you repaid my master’s good treatment toward you with evil?”

They asked, “What do you mean?”

“Do not act innocent. You have stolen my master’s special silver cup!”

The brothers protested: “We don’t know what you’re talking about.

Didn’t we travel all the way from Canaan to return the money that was in our bags? If we are thieves, then why would we bother to do such a thing? And how could we ever think to steal silver or gold from the governor’s house? Search our belongings and see whether or not we have this silver cup.”

The chief servant said, “I intend to.”

“And if you find it among any of us, let that man die. The rest of us will become the governor’s slaves.” The brothers were very sure of themselves.

“No,” said the chief servant. “I will not take away the guilty man’s life. I will only take away his freedom. The rest of you need not suffer for the evildoing of the guilty one.”

The brothers agreed. Then each one, starting from the oldest to the youngest, let down his sack and opened it. Each brother was amazed to find the money they had used to buy grain.

“What? How did this get in here?” they asked. They did not know that Joseph had his chief servant put the money into their sacks.

The brothers were embarrassed. But when Benjamin opened his sack, their embarrassment turned into something else: horror!

Benjamin had dug his hand into the sack and pulled out Joseph’s silver cup.

The older brothers moaned and tore their clothes. They knew that Benjamin would be arrested and taken to prison. And their father Jacob would never see him again (Genesis 44:4-13).

Joseph Reveals Himself

The chief servants and soldiers took the brothers back to Joseph’s home. When they came before Joseph, they fell down to the ground.

Joseph said to the brothers, “How dare you bow before me as though you respect me. Did you really think that you could steal my special silver cup and get away with it? Don’t you know that I have the power to see things through my magic arts?”

Of course, Joseph did not really practice magic. No servant of God does. He only said this because the brothers knew that pagan Egyptians practiced magic and other evil things. And Joseph still wanted his brothers to think that he was an Egyptian.

One of the brothers—Judah—spoke up: “What can we say, my lord?

Benjamin is found to have Joseph’s special silver cup.

How can we clear ourselves? We cannot explain how the money or cup fell into our possession. The Eternal God knows that we are guilty of past sins, so my brothers and I are ready to become your slaves.”

“Only the guilty man—the one who had my cup—should become my slave,” Joseph said. “The rest of you are free to leave. Go home to your father in peace.”

Judah had tears streaming down his cheeks. He said, “We cannot go back home without Benjamin. Our father’s love and affection is bound up in the boy. If we return without Benjamin, he will surely die from heartache. He has already lost one son he deeply loved. Let me be your slave in place of Benjamin. I would rather be a slave in Egypt than let my father suffer again.”

When he heard Judah’s plea, Joseph could no longer contain himself.

He shouted to his servants, “Leave this room at once!”

And when he was alone in the room with his brothers, Joseph wept aloud. Many outside the room could hear him cry.

Then Joseph turned to his brothers and said, “I am Joseph!”

His brothers were so shocked that they did not know what to say.

Joseph said, “Come near me,” and they did.

“I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into slavery.” Then he told them what had happened to him during the long years he had been in Egypt. He also told them that God had set him up to be lord of Pharaoh’s house, and to be a ruler throughout all of Egypt.

“Now hurry and go to our father. Tell him that I’m alive and ruling in Egypt. Tell him that he and our families can live in the land of Goshen. Bring your children and your children’s children. Hurry now and bring your flocks and herds and all of your livestock. There are still five more years of famine left. Come now, lest you lose all your possessions in the famine.”

Then Joseph hugged and kissed Benjamin and all his brothers. Everyone wept (Genesis 44:14-34; 45:1-15).

Land of Goshen

When Pharaoh heard that Joseph had reunited with his brothers, he and his servants were pleased. He said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers to go to Canaan and bring back their father, their families and their possessions.

I will give them the best land in Egypt” (Genesis 45:16-20).

When the brothers came home and told their father the good news, Jacob could hardly believe it.

“Joseph? He’s alive?”

“Alive and well, and governor of all of Egypt!” they said.

After they told him everything Joseph had said, Jacob said, “Let’s go then. Joseph is alive and I want to see him before I die” (Gen 44:25-28).

So Jacob, his sons and everyone who lived with them traveled to Egypt. Some time later, they came to the land of Goshen.

Riding in his chariot, Joseph raced to greet his father. When they saw each other, Joseph ran to Jacob, hugged him tightly and greeted him with a kiss. Both men wept.

The newly arrived families, with Pharaoh’s permission, made their home in Goshen, which was perfect for raising their sheep and other livestock. Goshen had plenty of fresh pastures for the animals to graze.

The Famine Grows Worse

The famine became worse throughout Egypt and Canaan, and people were running out of money to pay for grain.

Joseph gathered all the money he had earned through selling grain and brought it to Pharaoh. The Egyptian king was impressed with his fortune.

When the people no longer had money to pay for grain, they panicked.

But Joseph said, “I will take your horses, flocks, cattle and donkeys for payment instead.”

The people were happy to trade their livestock for grain. Joseph was able to sell them food for another year.

But by the next year, everyone had sold all of their animals for grain. People began to starve again.

Then Joseph said that he would give them grain if they sold their land to Pharaoh. The people agreed.

Then Joseph gave them seed and told the people to plant crops for themselves. “One-fifth shall go to Pharaoh. The rest will be yours. No longer will you need to buy grain.”

The people thanked Joseph, saying, “You have saved our lives!”

And so Pharaoh grew rich in silver, gold, livestock and land, and Egypt became a mighty and powerful nation (Genesis 47:13-25).

The Blessings of Israel

Jacob lived in Egypt for 17 years. He saw his children and possessions greatly prosper and increase in the land of Goshen.

When he was 147 years old and near death, Jacob asked Joseph not to bury him in Egypt. “Bury me with my fathers, Abraham and Isaac.

Promise me that you will.”

“I promise, father” (Genesis 49:27-31).

Some time later, when Jacob again felt sickly and near death, he called for Joseph, who brought with him his two sons—Manasseh and Ephraim.

Lying in his bed, Jacob told Joseph about the promise God had made to him years ago in Luz, now called Bethel.

“God said that He would increase my descendants and make many nations from them. He also said that He would give us the Promised Land to possess forever.”

Jacob explained that he wanted Manasseh and Ephraim to be part of God’s blessings, along with his other sons. So Jacob adopted the two boys as his own sons. He now considered them his first and second born sons, instead of Reuben and Simeon.

The boys kneeled before Jacob. He reached out to lay his hands on their heads in order to bless them. Jacob put his right hand on Ephraim and his left hand on Manasseh.

Since Jacob was going blind, Joseph thought that his father was about to make a big mistake.

“Manasseh is the firstborn; he should be blessed with Jacob’s right hand and receive the blessings of the firstborn,” he thought. So he removed Jacob’s left hand from Manasseh’s head.

“The firstborn son should be blessed with your right hand,” Joseph said.

Jacob said, “But not in this case. God has decided that the younger one, Ephraim, should be blessed with my right hand. Don’t worry— Manasseh will become a great nation, even the greatest nation the world will ever see. But Ephraim will become a great commonwealth, or group, of nations. His empire will stretch around the entire earth, and the sun will not set on it.”

With his right hand on Ephraim and his left hand on Manasseh, Jacob asked God to bless their descendants with great power and increase their numbers. And he asked that they be called Israel (Genesis 48:1-20).

Thousands of years later, the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh did become great and powerful nations. From Ephraim sprang the British empire, including Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other English-speaking nations. From Manasseh sprang the most powerful single nation the world has ever seen—the United States of America.

Today, most people do not know these historical facts, which God has carefully hidden and only recently revealed.

The Death of Jacob

Before he died, Jacob told his sons—Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Naphtali, Joseph and Benjamin—about future events that would happen to their descendants. And then he blessed them (Genesis 49:1-28).

After Jacob died, Joseph had Egyptian physicians preserve his body. When the Egyptians had mourned for 70 days, Joseph and his brothers, and all of Pharaoh’s servants, as well as the high officials of Egypt, gathered to travel to Canaan. Egyptian soldiers and chariots went with them.

When they arrived, Joseph buried his father in the same cave Abraham and Isaac were buried in. Joseph had kept his promise (Genesis 50:1-14).

When they all came back to Egypt, Joseph’s brothers were afraid that Joseph might seek revenge on them. “Now that father is gone, maybe Joseph will try to pay us back for selling him into slavery.”

Joseph told them that they had no need to worry. He did not want revenge. Joseph knew that God had allowed him to become a slave because it was a part of His Master Plan (verses 15-21). Sometimes God allows even His most obedient servants to suffer, but He always makes things work out well in the end.

Joseph lived in Egypt for many years. He died at age 110 years old, and lived to see his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Before he died, he made his children vow to carry his body out of Egypt and bury it in the Promised Land (verses 22-26).

The children and descendants of Jacob (Israel) stayed in Egypt and grew in great numbers.

God waited for the day He would bring them out of Egypt.