The rest of Genesis, where the tapestry really comes together

This blog needs a kick in the bottom to get rid of the writer’s block. I think finishing Genesis quickly and moving onto Job will do just the trick.

In Genesis 43, Jacob and his sons ate all the grain they brought from Egypt. They had to go back, and they had to bring Benjamin with them. Judah takes personal responsibility for his little brother’s safety. This is big, because it’s the first sign we see that Judah has gone through a heart change. Whereas it was his idea to sell his father’s LAST favorite son, he is doing the opposite here: protecting him. They left with gifts and double the amount of silver. They arrived and Joseph invited them to lunch, bringing their formerly imprisoned brother, Simeon to join them. Joseph was deeply moved when he saw Benjamin and went into a private room to weep for a while. He had not seen his littlest brother since Benjamin was a child.

They started eating. Benjamin got five times everyone else's portion. This was yet another test from Joseph. He wanted to see if they reacted angrily at Jacob’s favorite son being preferred again. He wanted to see if they had changed. 

It’s important to note that the Egyptian officials wouldn’t eat with the Hebrews. Egypt was a racist society. That’s one of the reasons God brought them there, most likely. No, really. God can use even racism to bring about his plans. God couldn’t have his people mixing with the people of Canaan and assimilating with those pagan nations. He moved his royal family to a place where no one would ever have sex with them. Egyptians believed that they were descended from great gods and others were descended from lesser gods. Whether the Hebrews were allowed to marry Egyptian women (Joseph certainly was), it would be rare, and they would still be set apart. They would never be equal. They would never belong in that world.  

Genesis 44- Joseph prepared to send the brothers away with their food. The brothers were understandably relieved. But Joseph is not done testing his family. There is NO WAY he is going to reunite with a hurtful, abusive, and potentially murderous group. He has a good thing going, and there is nothing good in allowing people to hurt you over and over, even family. Joseph puts a silver cup in Benjamin’s bag. Also, fun fact, this chapter says that this is Joseph’s divination cup. Joseph practiced DIVINATION. You don’t hear that talked about often, do ya? What do you think of that?

Joseph’s servant catches up to them and accuses them of stealing. The brothers are certain that no one in their group would take it. The mission is too important. It also shows that there is more trust between them than before. The cup is found in Benjamin’s sack. They are brought back to Joseph, and Judah completes his redemption by offering his life in exchange for Benjamin’s. He is now ready to be the ancestor of the Messiah. God shaped him through the Tamar incident and his guilt over what they did to Joseph. He won’t be making his mistakes again. This is finally enough proof for Joseph that his brothers are different now, love their father, and love each other.

Genesis 45- Joseph reveals his identity. At first, his brothers are afraid, but then they realize that Joseph has forgiven them. Joseph assured them that God sent him ahead in order to “preserve life.” Joseph sent them home to get Jacob. When Jacob hears the news, the Bible deliberately calls him “Israel” again, because now he is a satisfied man who fully understands that God’s hand has been on his life all along.

Genesis 46- The family comes to Egypt and settles in the land of Goshen.

Genesis 47- Jacob meets Pharaoh and blesses him, which is interesting to me. Even more interesting are Jacob’s words about his life. He calls his life a pilgrimage. And even though his is more than 100 years old, he calls his days “few and evil.” This shows wisdom we rarely see from this guy. He knows that he is not at home during this life. He knows that his days are short compared to God’s and compared to the time of the universe, even though he’s had such a long life. And he knows he’s lived a life full of sin, regret, bitterness, anger, yearning, folly, grief, and lack of faith. But he’s Israel. Even in these short and evil days, God used Jacob greatly.

Genesis 48- Jacob blesses Joseph’s sons and adopts them as his own. He gives the younger son the position of the firstborn, which is understandable given his life struggle with his own father and Esau. Also, it shows that God sometimes picks out a firstborn of his own and doesn’t much care for cultural traditions in this world.

Genesis 49- Jacob’s 12 sons are…blessed. Some of these blessings are weird. They are more like prophecies. Rueben “shall not excel,” because of how he slept with one of his father’s concubine. This came true. There was no messiah from that line, nor any kings or prophets . The second and third-born sons, Simeon and Levi were to be scattered because of the violence they wrought in anger after their sister was raped. Judah, of course, fared better.

Jacob said Judah’s brothers will praise him and bow down to him, his hand will be on the neck of his enemies, and the scepter shall not depart from him until Shiloh comes (Shiloh being a name for the messiah meaning “He whose right it is.” Judah is likened to a lion. In Revelation 5:5, Jesus is called “the lion of the tribe of Judah.” We won’t go through all of them, but another interesting prophecy is Dan’s because it says that he will judge his people. Samson, one of the judges of Israel, came from Dan’s line. The prophecy also said Dan’s descendants would cause trouble, and they did. After giving these blessings, Jacob dies.

Genesis 50- Jacob is buried in Canaan. Joseph comforts his brothers, assuring them that he isn’t going to turn nasty on them now that Jacob is dead. Also in this chapter, Joseph dies.

Some of that I shouldn’t have glossed over. But if boredom with the end of Genesis is going to keep me from this blog, it’s best to just get through it.