(Deuteronomy 4:2 [KJV]) Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I
command you.
(Proverbs 30:5, 6 [KJV]) Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
(Isaiah 28:10 [KJV])
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
(Isaiah 28:13 [KJV])
But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
(2 Peter 1:20 [KJV])
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
All of the studies, book or topical, found here, are done with research with mainly two things: The KING JAMES BIBLE and a plain old, 1828 Webster's Dictionary. Why? Outside of actually studying secular and Jewish history, archaeology, one needs nothing more. You do not need foreign, dead languages that no one speaks, lexicons, concordances or commentaries, because they differ not only with one another and with the KING JAMES BIBLE, but they create division, confusion, debate, and unbelief. We do not need them. That Word of God written and preserved for us in our own language is supposed to be enough, like the Old Testament was for the Jews, and the New Testament for the early Christians in Greek, Latin, Italian, Spanish, German, etc. There are studies within as tangents on words, subjects found within the two testaments, as to broaden the scope of the study, to learn more, deeper truths. This is not an intellectual site with PhDs, theologians, and no worldly wisdom.. Check everything out, everything. Not just here, but with everything you read and see and hear. Be Bereans:
(Acts 17:11 [KJV])
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Always research for yourself, use all of the context, and never privately interpret!
Genesis Chapter 45: WITH THE FATHER- THE EMOTIONAL REVELATION OF JOSEPH: ISRAEL WILL ENTER EGYPT,
As the famine deepens, according to God's dream to Pharaoh, plus the imprisonment of Simeon in exchange for seeing Benjamin, Jacob (Israel) is forced once again to send his boys into Egypt for food, this time with Benjamin, making this all of Joseph's brethren there, minus his father Jacob. They tell Jacob the threat of this ruler in Egypt, so he has no choice but to send Benjamin with them. This reunion overwhelms Joseph, not having seen Benjamin in many years, and it is now time to reveal himself and God's plan to sav them all in Egypt from starvation. They will need to bring the father with them. The amount of grace, mercy and forgiveness that Joseph had top extend to them is beyond most of us, as it took all of this famine to even get them to have any remorse at all, not much of which is even displayed here, because it is more being stunned than anything
(Genesis 45:1 [AKJV/PCE])
Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.
That long away, those once close brethren who have no idea what is about to happen
Several times Joseph seeing them and not revealing himself to them, learning about the family, how his father is still alive, Benjamin is with him
Knowing God did all of this to save them all from the famine, starvation
That all, all at once
(Genesis 45:2 [AKJV/PCE])
And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
The confusion of his brethren must have deepened greatly at that moment
There would be no reason for an Egyptian ruler from a nation whose people "not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians."
So then, why is this guy crying all of a sudden?
(Genesis 43:32 [AKJV/PCE])
And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians.
(Genesis 45:3 [AKJV/PCE])
And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.
This is so stunning that they do not understand what he just said
If, since this is Joseph, wow! We sold him to Ishmaelites, think that he was still perhaps a slave with them, not knowing even if he was still alive or not
(Genesis 45:4 [AKJV/PCE])
And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
He is relating the rest of the story of his presence before them as a ruler now
Older, older look, deeper voice, not the same position as a younger brother under them, but a ruler over them
It must have occurred to them that, at some point, Joseph could have given the signal and they would all be imprisoned, beaten, or dead, and he did not exact revenge for what they did to him to get him in this place
(Genesis 45:5 [AKJV/PCE])
Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
This is the Who and the why, the Who is God; the why is to save life
(Genesis 45:6 [AKJV/PCE])
For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
This famine is not over, you haven't seen the worst of it yet
(Genesis 45:7 [AKJV/PCE])
And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
If there was no God to send Joseph in to live there in the first place, that famine would wipe out Jacob and his family, and Israel would be gone, God's people
But God has a plan...
The tiny nation is a miracle now, as then
(Genesis 45:8 [AKJV/PCE])
So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
This is the very perfect example of God working in mysterious ways
(Genesis 45:9 [AKJV/PCE])
Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not: And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:
Now that you know the truth about me, hurry up!
If Joseph did not have God behind this, having this sort of say by his authority and power in the matter, this would not work, as the Egyptians would never have even have given them any food, let alone land, houses, but would have killed them the first time on arrival
(Genesis 45:11 [AKJV/PCE])
And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.
Joseph has to repeat that there are five years left to go, so this is urgent
(Genesis 45:12 [AKJV/PCE])
And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.
He is telling them that they are not seeing a ghost; it is indeed and in fact Joseph himself, their "dead" or "enslaved" brother
No Egyptian would ever say to them, "my brother Benjamin"
(Genesis 45:13 [AKJV/PCE])
And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.
Joseph, being humble, God never saying anything bad about him in His Word, when he says "my glory", he means "the glory God has shown of Himself by grace to me"
These men have literally experience the resurrection from the dead of a brother they either took for dead or claimed he was dead, all of these years, to their father, then, maybe later, believed and even convinced themselves that he was dead
(Genesis 45:14 [AKJV/PCE])
And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
Rachel being their mother, this is their bond, which was not the same as with the other brothers
Bringing him was one thing Joseph really, truly wanted and which they did not do the first time
(Genesis 45:15 [AKJV/PCE])
Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
This has to have been an amazing conversation, a very humbling experience for them
(Genesis 45:16 [AKJV/PCE])
¶ And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.
The fact here that "it pleased Pharaoh well" shows the favor Joseph had with Pharaoh; this would not have been normal in the least bit
Add to that his servants
(Genesis 45:17 [AKJV/PCE])
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan; And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.
Joseph has such favor with Pharaoh that Pharaoh asks for Joseph's family to come to him, not just to Joseph
The good and the fat of the land, for all of Jacob's family, household, including servants, God doing the blessing, the work for them, opening doors, preparing ways, them merely being, existing
This is like a gospel message, by grace through faith
(Genesis 45:19-20 [AKJV/PCE])
Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.
Imagine a leader of an adversarial nation commanding you to "BE BLESSED BY OUR OVERFLOW!"
In other words, this is God doing something miraculous, just a few short years ago absolutely impossible
(Genesis 45:21 [AKJV/PCE])
And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.
They are called the children of Israel here, as in the children of Jacob, because it is foretold here that they will grow as the nation of Israel, be in captivity 400 years, and loot the Egyptians on the way out the door
(Genesis 45:22 [AKJV/PCE])
To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.
Favor, favor and more favor, a reward for showing up, because they withheld Benjamin Joseph's brother from him before now
(Genesis 45:23 [AKJV/PCE])
And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way.
Extra provisions for just his father, withheld even longer from Joseph, yet to be seen, Joseph having been told he was alive
Twenty asses, wagons loaded, that is a lot of provision, so this is a long distance
(Genesis 45:24 [AKJV/PCE])
So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.
Joseph means to go straight, in a line, right to Canaan, straight back to Egypt, do not waver, take your time, wander off and waste time, hastily bringing my father to me
This is a 250 mile journey, doubled in the round trip to get their father Jacob back with them. Ten days? Twenty? A month? Then back again?
A trek, not just a normal journey. For us even today that is many hours driving, but not walking.
(Genesis 45:25 [AKJV/PCE])
¶ And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father, And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not.
What Jacob does not know is that they lied when they said "here is his coat" and Jacob concluded about Joseph, "an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces."
His heart fainted because of the consequences of him being deceived, thinking he had lost Joseph
His heart fainted because of the probable amount of lies they had told him over the years, as it is highly unlikely that his one lie about Joseph's coat dipped in blood was the only whopper they had ever told their father
If they were wrong then, this is a hard blow. If they are wrong now, this is an even harder one, like a punch in the gut
(Genesis 37:31-33 [KJV])
And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood; And they sent the coat of [many] colours, and they brought [it] to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it [be] thy son's coat or no. And he knew it, and said, [It is] my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
(Genesis 45:27 [AKJV/PCE])
And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived:
This was most likely some sort of confirmation, Jacob knowing that the Egyptians not only had no such thing to do with the Israelites, but would never on their own offer carts, provisions for them, willingly
(Genesis 45:28 [AKJV/PCE])
And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.
Knowing someone you thought was dead is still alive after a very long time is a big relief, so yes, enough to keep one going, in hope, for a long journey a trek to see that person, especially one's favorite son
"Before I die". Jacob lived seventeen more years after this but, without this famine, without God intervening and bringing them into Egypt, Joseph being there, brought into power to save them with food during a famine, Jacob would have perished, never having seen Joseph again, thinking he died a horrible death at a young age.
(Genesis 47:28-31 [KJV])
And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years. And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt: But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.
Links to studies by book or topic are on the top menu.
