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Genesis 47-50

Lesson 22

Famine

Seven good years have passed Famine is severe Jacob sends his sons to buy more

grain Judah reminds him—they cannot go

without Benjamin

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Judah’s promise

Why did you tell ‘the man’ you had another brother

We must have food or die I will be responsible for Benjamin

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Back to Egypt

Jacob sends gifts for ‘the man’ They take double money

Plus the money returned from first trip Pray that God will return Simeon

(and Benjamin) “If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!”

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Before Joseph

Takes them to his house Prepares a meal Brothers are afraid Try to explain the money They prepare the presents for

Joseph

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Joseph Comes Home

They bow before Joseph (dream)

“Is your father well” Joseph sees Benjamin

He has to leave the room to weep He returns for the meal They are seated in age order

Joseph eats alone

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Leaving Egypt

Food in their sacks Joseph’s silver cup is put in

Benjamin’s sack Servants sent after them

“Why have you repaid evil for good?” They are so sure no one took the

cup Let the guilty one die

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Joseph’s Cup

The guilty one will be my servant The cup was found in Benjamin's

sack They return (in disbelief) to Joseph How do we clear ourselves? Everyone but the guilty one may go Benjamin is my slave

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Judah’s Plea

Our father is old Benjamin is son of his old age Brother is dead Your request to bring him here If we return without Benjamin our

father will die Let me stay in his place

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Joseph’s Revelation

He sends everyone from the room Joseph tells his brothers who he is

“I am JosephI am Joseph; does my father still live?”

They are in shock There is much weeping “God sent me before you to

preserve life”

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More Famine

Five more years of famine It was not you who sent me here, but

God He has made me a father to Pharaoh Lord of all his house A ruler throughout all the land of Egypt Go get our father

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Pharaoh’s Assistance

Load your animals Take carts Bring your family I will give you the best of the land

of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land

The best of all the land of Egypt is yours

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Returning to Jacob

Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt

Jacob did not believe them “It is enough. Joseph my son is still

alive. I will go and see him before I die”

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Trip To Egypt

Sacrifices at Beersheba God tells Jacob to go to Egypt

““for I will make of you a great nation for I will make of you a great nation there”there”

“I will also surely bring you up again” Jacob, his family, and possessions

move to Egypt

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Arriving in Egypt Seventy people move to Egypt

In the speech of Stephen (Acts 7:14) the number is stated to be seventy-five

They come to Goshen “Now let me die, since I have seen

your face, because you are still alive” Tell Pharaoh you are shepherds

shepherds are an abomination to the Egyptians

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Lessons

PerseveranceGuilt

fearForgivenessGod’s purpose/planFaith

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Forgiveness—condition of our forgiveness

Matthew 6:9-15 …12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.

14 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

15 "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

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Forgiveness—how often?

Matthew 18:21 Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"

22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.

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Forgiveness--kindness

Ephesians 4:31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.

32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.

you in turn shall be so to your fellow men, who have not erred against you in the degree that you have erred against God

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Forgiveness—as Christ forgave you

Colossians 3:12-17 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;

13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

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Forgiveness—no malice The idea is, that if another one has

given us just occasion of complaint, we are to forgive him; we are—

to harbor no malice against him; to be ready to do him good as if he

had not given us occasion of complaint

Albert Barnes

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Forgiveness—no malice to be willing to declare that we

forgive him when he asks it; and we are always afterwards to treat

him as kindly as if he had not injured us—as God treats us when he forgives us.

Albert Barnes

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Forgiveness–entirely Even as Christ forgave you Christ

forgave us Freely—he did not hesitate or delay when

we asked him; Entirely—he pardoned all our offences; Forever—he did it so as to remember our

sins no more, and to treat us ever onward as if we had not sinned. So we should forgive an offending brother.

Albert Barnes

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Arrival in Egypt

Joseph told Pharaoh the family had arrived

Pharaoh asked their occupation Made chief shepherds over

Pharaoh’s herds Jacob blessed Pharaoh

Famine Still Severe

All money exchanged for grain No money left to purchase grain Flocks and herds exchanged for grain Next year

Still famine No money, no flocks Exchange land for grain Taxed 1/5 of production

Israel in Goshen

Grew and multiplied exceedingly ‘make you a great nation there’

Jacob 147 years old 130 when arrived in Egypt

Please do not bury me in Egypt Joseph promised

“I will do as you have said”

Jacob’s Blessing

Joseph takes his sons to Jacob Jacob blesses Ephraim and

Manasseh They shall be as my own sons Ephraim, the younger, shall be the

greater Through his sons, Joseph gets a

double portion

Future of the Sons

Rueben: Acknowledged as his firstborn, the beginning of Jacob’s strength he was unstable as water and would not excel because he had defiled his father’s bed in committing fornication with Bilhah.

Simeon / Levi: named as brethren because of their cruelty. Jacob cursed their anger and wrath because it was fierce and cruel. They would be divided and scattered in Israel. (Remember Shechem)

Future of the Sons Judah: The scepter would not depart from

Judah (49:10) His brethren would praise him and bow before him. Compared to a lion in different stages of life. Through his lineage Christ would come.

Zebulun: Would dwell on the sea and be a haven for ships, and his border would be Sidon.

Issachar: Compared to a strong donkey carrying two burdens. Would become a servant to tribute.

Future of the Sons Dan: Would judge his people (one of the

judges of Israel – Samson). Referred to as an adder by the way (snake in grass) Judges 18:27

Gad: A troop would overcome him, but he would overcome in the end.

Asher: His bread would be fat and he would yield royal dainties.

Naphtali: A deer let loose. He would give goodly words.

Future of the Sons

Joseph: A fruitful bough. Would be made strong by God even when others hated him. Blessings would prevail upon him.

Benjamin: As a raving wolf in the morning would devour the prey. At night he would divide the spoil.

Jacob Dies

Request for burial cave that is in the field of

Machpelah, which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place

Jacob Dies

Others buried there Abraham Sarah Isaac Rebekah Leah

Jacob’s Burial

Embalmed by Egyptians Mourned for seventy days Large Egyptian entourage

accompanied Joseph and family to bury Jacob

Buried, as requested, in cave of Machpelah

Back in Egypt

Brothers fear reprisal Plead with Joseph “Do not be afraid, for am I in the

place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive”

Joseph Dies

Special request you shall carry up my bones from here

Egyptians embalm Joseph Place him in a coffin Joseph is 110 years old

Remember the Promises

"I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob."

Revenge

Were the brothers expecting revenge by Joseph after Israel died?

Was Joseph is a position to deal with them harshly?

Thinking about what they had done would it have seemed justified?

Why did Joseph not exact revenge against his brothers?

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Revenge

to exact punishment for a wrong, especially in a resentful or vindictive spirit

to take vengeance; inflict punishment

an opportunity to retaliate or gain satisfaction

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Revenge

Somebody hurt me; I want to give them what they have coming

No doubt Joseph had been hurt by his brothers All those years in prison he did not

understand God’s plan/purpose They had done him wrong—no doubt They EXPECTED revenge

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God’s revenge

Psalm 99:1-9 8 You answered them, O LORD our

God; You were to them God-Who-Forgives, Though You took vengeance on their deeds.

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God’s revenge

God forgave them When the people had sinned, and wrath was about to descend on them, Moses and Aaron interceded for them, and they were not destroyed.

God vengeance on their deeds God spared them, but showed his displeasure at their misdoings. He chastised, but did not consume them. This is amply proved in the history of this people.

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God’s revenge

Nahum 1:2 God is jealous, and the LORD avenges; The LORD avenges and is furious. The LORD will take vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies;

3 The LORD is slow to anger and great in power

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God’s revenge

And is furious So powerful in the manifestations of his judgments, that nothing can stand before him.

He reserves wrath Though they seem to prosper for a time, and God appears to have passed by their crimes without notice, yet he reserves-treasures up-wrath for them, which shall burst forth in due time.

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God’s revenge (comes slowly)

Verse 3 The Lord is slow to anger He exercises much longsuffering towards his enemies, that this may lead them to repentance. And it is because of this longsuffering that vengeance is not speedily executed on every evil work.

Great in power Able at all times to save or to destroy.

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Vengeance is Mine, I will repay

Hebrews 10:30 For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The LORD will judge His people."

Vengeance is mine This is the saying of God, Deuteronomy 32:35, in reference to the idolatrous Gentiles, who were the enemies of his people; and is here with propriety applied to enemies to God's ordinances

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a fearful thing

31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

To fall into the hands of God is to fall under his displeasure; and He who lives forever can punish forever. How dreadful to have the displeasure of an eternal, almighty Being to rest on the soul for ever! Apostates, and all the persecutors and enemies of God's cause and people, may expect the heaviest judgments of an incensed Deity: and these, not for a time, but through eternity.

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taking vengeance

2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,

8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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taking vengeance

taking vengeance-inflicting just punishment on them that know not God-the heathen who do not worship the true God, and will not acknowledge him, but worship idols; and on them that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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Repay no one evil for evil Romans 12:17-21 Repay no one

evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.

19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath

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Repay no one evil for evil 20 Therefore "If your enemy is

hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head."

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

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bear up under unmerited disgrace

Never take the execution of the law into your own hands; rather suffer injuries. The Son of man is come, not to destroy men's lives, but to save: be of the same spirit. When he was reviled, he reviled not again. It is the part of a noble mind to bear up under unmerited disgrace

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leave the matter to God

leave the matter to God, who is the righteous judge: for by avenging yourselves you take your cause out of the hands of God.

This is well expressed in Eccl. 19:17 Admonish thy neighbor before you threaten him, and, not being, angry, GIVE PLACE TO THE LAW OF THE MOST HIGH.

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overcome evil with good Romans 12:18 If it is possible, as

much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Matthew 5:39 "But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

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JosephJoseph

A great example in so many ways…

Including forgiveness No revenge

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