Bible Study Online Article

In the last article we learned that Jacob's sons had to deliver some bad and unexpected news to their father. This news dealt with Jacob's sons reporting that Simeon was now being held prisoner by the Egyptians. Simeon was the second son that was born unto Jacob and Leah.

Jacob's sons would also report that in order for Simeon to be set free, they would have to bring their little brother Benjamin to Egypt.

Now initially, Jacob had refused to go along with these demands, but his son Judah would come forward and offer some sound reasoning on why his father must rethink his position, when it came to Benjamin.

Finally after some good sound reasoning from his son, Jacob allows Benjamin to head to Egypt with his brothers. Needless-to-say, Jacob wasn't happy about the decision.

Jacob also revealed how he really felt about the overall situation, by letting his sons know, that he probably wouldn't see Benjamin again. Now personally, I can't say that I can blame Jacob for the type of attitude that he had adopted, when it came to him depending on his sons.

Jacob's sons had led him to believe that Joseph, the one son that Jacob could depend on, had been killed by a wild beast in the fields. And of course this was a lie, being that his sons had betrayed their brother Joseph and sold him into slavery. However that may be, in Jacob's mind, Joseph was now gone, and now he's at a point in his life, where he may lose another favorite son in Benjamin.

Now all of this came about after the "famine of seven years" had struck the land, Jacob had decided to send ten of his sons down to Egypt to buy grain so their households wouldn't starve. Now what seemed like an easy task, would still turn out to be problematic for Jacob's sons, being that now, they would return home without their brother Simeon.

And on top of that, we now find that Jacob's sons needed to take Benjamin down to Egypt with them and although Jacob was a God-fearing man, he allowed what he thought he had saw in the natural, to limit and influence him negatively, when it came to his faith and trust in the Almighty God. For if he had trusted and focused on God more, Jacob wouldn't have been so easily led down a path that was paved with despair and heartache. Keep in mind that according to Jacob, he thought that God had allowed two of his sons to be taken from him, so why not a third?

But what Jacob didn't understand, is that God had not taken his sons from him, but had placed Joseph and Simeon on separate predestine paths, that were designed to further complete God's plans when it came to the next phase of Israel's future. God did not forget His "promise covenant" that He had made with Jacob, and his father Isaac, and his grandfather Abraham... but it would seem that Jacob, himself, had forgotten about the covenant?

Know that Jacob's faith was weak at this point in his life and because of this, he will travel down a path that would lead him through a "season of restlessness" that would affect his mind and spirit greatly. I'll tell you this, being able to have some type of "peace of mind" in a world that's so chaotic, is definitely a benefit that only God can give. But it takes a strong faith in the Almighty that will enable us to enjoy that peaceful benefit, that holds a value of such, in a complex world that's filled with chaos.

Be that as it may, as we move forward, we now find that Jacob's sons had taken the gifts that their father had suggested for them to take to the Egyptian ruler, who was now holding Simeon prisoner. They also took double the amount when it came to their sliver, since they needed to pay for a new supply of grain, but they also needed to pay for the grain that they had previously brought back on their last trip to Egypt.

Shortly after, we find that Jacob's sons hurried down to Egypt and presented themselves to "Zaphenath-Paneah the Revealer of Secrets" - who was of course, their long lost brother Joseph. Needless-to-say, Joseph was delighted to see his little brother Benjamin, but keep in mind that he couldn't show his true emotions in front of his brothers. The reason for this, dealt with Joseph still wanting to keep his identity a secret.

So instead, Joseph told his steward: "Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare dinner; they are to eat with me at noon." The steward would do as he was told and took Jacob's sons back to Joseph's house. In the meantime, Jacob's sons would become very afraid, since they didn't know what to think when it came to receiving an invite of such.

After all, it was very unusual for a man that had such a high standing within the land of Egypt, to be so hospitable to foreign strangers. So immediately they thought it was a trap of some sorts: "We were brought here because of the sliver that was put back into our sacks the first time. He wants to attack us and overpower us and seize us as slaves and take our donkeys." They would say amongst themselves.

Now Jacob's sons were at the entrance to Joseph's house and it was at this time, they began to explain their concerns to the Egyptian steward: "Please sir, we came down here the first time to buy food. But at the place where we stopped for the night, we opened our sacks and each of us found his sliver, the exact weight in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back with us. We have also brought additional sliver with us to buy food. Sir, we don't know who put our sliver in our sacks." -- Genesis 43:20-22

After the steward had heard all that Jacob's sons had to say, he responded by saying: "It's all right, don't be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; I received your sliver." Now after the steward had said this, he took them in the house and went to go get their brother Simeon who Joseph had kept in prison all this time.

Next the steward would go and get them some water so they could wash their feet and he also provided their donkeys with some fodder (coarse food). In the meantime, Jacob's sons had learnt that they would be dining there at Joseph's home, so they decided to prepare the gifts that they had brought from their father's house, to give to him.

With a man like Joseph that has everything, what will he think about the gifts? Since Joseph finally has Benjamin - will he let him go back with his brothers? Or, does he have different plans? How will Joseph brothers respond, if Joseph tries to force Benjamin to stay? After all, they did tell their father that Benjamin would return home. Will they let their father down again?

The Introduction of Abraham

The Birth of Isaac

The Birth of Esau & Jacob

Jacob - The Path of Uncertainty

Jacob - Wrestles with God

Joseph the Favorite Son

**YOUR CURRENT BIBLE STUDY ONLINE SERIES WOULD BE HERE**

83) Pharaoh's Dark Dreams

84) Joseph's Dark Dreams Interpretation

85) Joseph the Overseer of Egypt

86) Joseph the Revealer of Secrets

87) The Unveiling of Pharaoh

88) The Seven Years of Abundance

89) The Famine of Seven Years

90) Joseph the Egyptian Prime Minister

91) Joseph the Temptation of Revenge

92) Joseph's Tipping Point

93) The Confessions of the Ten Tribes

94) The Returning Nine Tribes

95) Jacob the Bereaved

96) Jacob's Reality Check

97) <-CURRENT BIBLE STUDY ONLINE PAGE->

98) Joseph the Great Host

99) Judah Pleads For Benjamin

100) The Unveiling of Joseph