Week of Sunday August 16, 2020
Bible Study for Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
Genesis 45:1-15
Once again, the selected text is but a portion of the ongoing narrative of Joseph and his brothers that we started looking at last week. Much has happened in between last week’s text and this week’s. In chapters 37 – 44 we hear the stories of Joseph and his life in Egypt. (Chapter 38 has been described by a commentator as one “without connection to its context; isolated in every way and most enigmatic.” We will not include it in our study, though I commend it to you for your reading.)
The characters we meet are many. Chapter 39 tells of Joseph finding favor with Potiphar who was a high-ranking officer of Pharaoh such that Potiphar placed Joseph in charge of all of his properties. The level of trust placed in him was very high. And then Potiphar’s wife enters the scene and things change and Joseph finds himself back in prison. In Chapter 40, Joseph meets the baker and the butler who serve Pharaoh until they fell from his good graces and found themselves in prison as well. Both of them come to Joseph to interpret troubling dreams. The butler promised to remember Joseph to the Pharaoh, but he did not.
Chapter 41 takes place two years later. Pharaoh has unsettling dreams and speaks of them to his butler who then remembers the Hebrew in prison with him. Once again, Joseph finds favor with the powers that be. He is put in a position of trust at the age of thirty.
Meanwhile back in Canaan, Jacob and his household are suffering with the famine. Chapter 42 tells of the brothers going to Egypt to purchase food. Joseph recognizes them but they did not know him and Joseph drives a hard bargain. The brothers return to Canaan, leaving Simeon in Egypt and discover more than food in their sacks. And they were afraid and Jacob did not agree to the demands of Joseph.
After a stretch of time, they exhausted the supply of food they had brought from Egypt and Jacob tells them to go back. Chapter 43 tells of the return trip, this time with Benjamin, despite Jacob’s misgivings. When they arrive before Joseph, still not recognizing him, Joseph hosts a great feast. There is a surprising trick in Chapter 44 and the story about Jacob and his despair over the “loss” of Joseph and his worry and protectionism of Benjamin tumbles out from Judah’s lips.
Skim over Chapters 39-44. Which events or characters are most interesting to you? Estimate the span of time that has passed from the time that Joseph was thrown into the cistern until the brothers make their second trip to Egypt. Think about a comparable stretch of time in your life. How does this affect your reading of this narrative of Joseph?
Consider the events of deception and trickery in these chapters. List these and their result. What conclusions might you draw from this.
Now, at last, to the text appointed for today. How would you describe Joseph’s emotions? Imagine being one of the brothers in the scene in 45:1-3. What might be going through your mind and your heart?
Last week we noted that God was not mentioned in Chapter 37. Note the places in Chapters 39-44 where “God” or “Lord” is mentioned. Note who is speaking of God and in what circumstance. What conclusions might we draw about this?
And we must look ahead as well. Joseph tells his brothers that there will be 5 more years of famine and that they must go get their father and all his household and relocate to Egypt. Joseph explains this incredible story to Pharaoh, who graciously responds. Joseph and Jacob are reunited (46:28-34). The time comes for Jacob/Israel to die and he blesses his grandsons and his sons and then dies and is buried. Perhaps a climax of this whole narrative of Joseph is found in 50:20. How do these words of Joseph resonate with the ongoing covenantal promises God made with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob?
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, just as you accompanied Joseph through years of trouble and toil, please be with us through the difficulties of our lives. Grow our trust in you and assure us that you will work all things together for our good. Thank you. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Note: next week we move into the Book of Exodus. Our text is Exodus 1:8 – 2:10.
