DAY #119:Genesis 42:1-38

BACKGROUND:

Joseph was handling his brothers roughly, but underneath his severity was affection, as their later reunion makes clear. Ironically the brothers were speaking to a person they thought was dead.

Their presence in Egypt confirmed the truth of his dreams, but not their fulfillment. Joseph knew that all the family must come to Egypt under his rulership. He demanded that one of them bring their little brother as proof that they were not spies. Retaining them in prison was an interesting turn of events, since the brothers had previously put Joseph in a “cistern-prison.”

After a three-day custody of the brothers, Joseph altered his plan and suggested keeping only one... in prison while the other nine returned. He retained Simeon while the others returned home to Canaan with grain. If they would not return with their youngest brother, Simeon would be killed.

A taste of retribution began to awaken feelings in the brothers, feelings that Joseph’s cries for mercy and Jacob’s tears (37:34-35) had failed to awaken. They sensed that having to bring Benjamin back to Egypt against the wishes of their father would be punishment for their having sold Joseph. Since Jacob was still distressed, now they were in distress. As they spoke, they were unaware that Joseph understood them for he was using an interpreter. Seeing their sense of remorse touched Joseph and he turned away and wept.

As a further means of striking the fear of God into his brothers, Joseph had their silver (with which they had purchased grain) put into their sacks. Whether he meant the money to be discovered on the way home or at home, its initial shock was effective. The sense of guilt already aroused made the group quickly see the hand of God in the governor’s action. So the question, What is this that God has done to us? was, as far as it went, a fruitful reaction to trouble. They apparently felt that Joseph would accuse them of theft, which would support his contention that they were spies.

When they arrived home in Canaan, the nine brothers told Jacob what had happened. Jacob, grieved because he thought another son was dead (Simeon is no more), refused to let Benjamin return. Reuben, the eldest, sought to assure his father that he would bring Benjamin back. This is ironic since Reuben had failed to prevent the loss of Joseph. But Jacob refused to let Benjamin go. He said if something happened to his youngest, he would sorrow the rest of his days, just as he had said when he heard of Joseph’s “death”.

Joseph’s tests were important in God’s plan to bless the seed of Abraham. God planned to bring the family to Egypt so that it would grow there into a great nation. But it was necessary that the people who entered Egypt be faithful to the Lord. It was necessary that the brothers be tested before they could participate in God’s blessing. Joseph’s prodding had to be subtle; the brothers must perceive the hand of God moving against them so that they would acknowledge their crime against Joseph and their previous unbelief in his dreams. But one test was not enough; there must be two.


SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

One of the key qualities in Joseph's life wasn’t just that he had dreams or waited for dreams or that he received dreams. One of the key qualities in his life is that he knew how to MANAGE THE DREAM.

Today (4) and tomorrow (3) I want to give you seven characteristics of great managers of dreams.

#1. Dream managers develop discipline. Joseph gathered grain for seven years. He’s a model of discipline. He worked when he wasn’t pressured to work, that’s discipline. All of us know how to work against a deadline. But he had seven years to gather grain. Why not kick back for two years before he started gathering? There was no real pressure. No one knew if the famine was coming for sure. Even though he wasn’t pressured, he worked.

He collected grain consistently over those seven years. He didn’t collect a little then wait a while. He worked out a daily way to do it. He continued to gather grain even though it looked like he had too much at one point. He gathered so much grain they couldn’t even count it anymore but he kept gathering because God had told him to do that. He’s a model of the discipline that it takes to manage a dream.

That’s the first seven years, the gathering of the grain. Then comes the second seven years, the giving out of the grain.

#2. Great managers choose to serve. 41:57 “All the countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the famine was severe in all the world.” All the countries? If you think Nordstrom’s is busy during Christmas time, imagine Egypt, imagine all the countries. Joseph was there finding ways to serve all those people. They did pay for the grain but that wasn’t the issue. The issue was he was feeding a world because of a God-given dream. He not only saved Egypt, he not only saved Israel, he saved many – all – the countries of the world.

We look at famine today and think, “I’ve got to do something!” Joseph did do something. He served a world that was hungry. That’s what you do if you’re a dream manager. You choose to serve. You don’t kick back and think, “Now everybody gets to serve me because I’ve got the dream.” No, you choose to serve.

#3. Dream managers remember who owns the dream. They remember whose the owner of the dream in the first place. One of the ways you see this very clearly is through those two sons of Joseph. Remember what he named those two sons.

He had a son named Manasseh and one named Ephraim. Manasseh means “God has caused me to forget.” That was the meaning of that name. “Caused me to forget the heartache that I had with my family, the heartache of coming down to Egypt. God has caused me to forget.”

Then a son named Ephraim “God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.” God has caused me… What you named your children in Joseph's said a lot about who you were. I'm not sure it says a lot about who we are – we just thumb through those books of names and ind one that we like. In that day it said a lot about who they were. It said a lot about their heart. If you were in a depressing time, you named the child a depressing kind of name.

Here is Joseph naming his sons, “God has caused…” to forget and to be fruitful.

The question for you and I is this, if your dream were fulfilled, whose victory would it be? Sometimes when the dream is fulfilled – ministry, marriage, whatever the dream is – even if we’ve prayed for it, after that dream is fulfilled a subtle change of ownership starts to happen. Instead of it being God’s dream, it’s my dream. Watch out for that. Don’t be a victim of victory.

Many people have been through the years. In the Bible, read the story of Gideon. You might remember the good parts of his story, but later in his life he’s the victim of the victory in his life. You can read that in the book of Judges.

Another story is Solomon. The wisest man who ever lived the Bible says. But at the end of his life he ends up being an idolater, worshipping other gods. Why? Because Israel was in its Golden Age. It was more successful than it had ever been. That success caused him to relax his faith. Don’t be a victim of God’s victory in your life.

#4. Dream managers learn to forgive. On the way towards that dream there were probably some people that hurt you. When you reach that dream there are probably some people that wronged you. If you hold on to an unforgiveness towards those people, you end up ruining the dream. It would have for Joseph.

Genesis 42 you hear the story of Joseph and his brothers. We go back to square one. v. 1. Here’s Joseph. He has the dream, he’s over in Egypt second ruler in all of Egypt, he’s feeding the world, and here’s his brothers, “Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt and he said to his sons, ‘Why do you just keep looking at each other? You’re just setting their staring at each other!’” Because of their fear. In Genesis 42 you see the picture of a family who’s living with their solution instead of God’s solution. You see the picture of grief twenty to twenty-four years later. You see the picture of guilt at least twenty years later. Grief and guilt were still a part of this family’s life even a generation later.

Look in v. 4 at the grief that’s still there. “Ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt but Jacob didn’t send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with the others because he was afraid that harm might come to him.” Benjamin was the youngest brother. The grief is still there, twenty years later. When they sold Joseph into slavery they thought they were getting rid of their problem. They hadn’t solved their problem. They invited their problem to move in, right next door, right in their house, right in their bedroom for twenty years. That’s what happens when it’s our solution not God’s solution.

Some of you are living with your solution right now. You’re thinking right now, “That’s the truth!” You can make a change.

They were also living with guilt twenty years later. The go down to Egypt and they’re going to buy some grain and guess who the brothers meet up with? Joseph. He might have a veil on or some of the officials then might be behind a partition, they wouldn’t get close to people. I don’t know exactly why but they could hear each other but not see each other real closely. He might have been high up, away from them. They talk and communicate but they don’t know who Joseph is. But Joseph knows who they are. He recognizes them.

They come in and say, “We need some food.” Joseph devises a little test. He says, “I’ll give you some food but if you want some food I’ve got to see that younger brother.” They begin to struggle with that. v. 22 “You’ve got to bring your youngest brother to me so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.’ And this they proceeded to do. “Surely we are being punished because of our brother [Benjamin? No, Joseph!] We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life but we wouldn’t listen. That’s why this distress has come upon us.” Twenty, at least, years later they remembered vividly how he pleaded for his life. And every bad thing that happened in their life they’d think, “God’s punishing us.”

Any of you ever felt like that? Then get it settled! Don’t live with your solution, live with God’s solution. Live with His forgiveness. Learn to forgive and allow Him to forgive. You don’t have to feel like every time something bad happens that it’s punishment for what I did wrong. That’s a family living with their solution.

Joseph has this test. Then he sends them away. v. 25 “Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain and put each man’s silver that they brought to buy the grain within the sack. After this was done they loaded the grain on their donkeys and they left. They stopped and they looked in their sack and the silver was there. Their hearts sank and they turned to each other trembling ‘What is this that God has done to us?’” That’s guilt twenty years later, unresolved guilt!

If you’re feeling that way every time something goes bad, get His forgiveness. You don’t have to feel that, “God’s punishing us or what is this that God has done to us?”

I pray these foundational truths and principles are beneficial to you as you consider the dream God has for you. I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.