# 52 2023 Dev. Ge. 43:23.The God of your Father! Read all of chapter forty three first. We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think on and interact with. This is God’s story. Do you believe that this may also be part of our story, in our time? All passages are taken from the NIV.
Ge. 43:23 “It’s all right,” he said. ‘Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver.’ Then he brought Simeon out to them.”
Ch.43 continues the story of Joseph in Egypt. God placed Joseph where He needed him to be to fulfill God’s purposes. Now, Joseph had been in Egypt for ten years or more. He had spent 3 years as a slave, he spent the next seven years collecting grain and now he is selling the grain. He will be selling grain for seven years.
Vs.1-14 Eventually the food Jacob’s sons bought in Egypt ran out, We read; “Now the famine was still severe in the land.” They had little choice, they had to go back to Egypt. These verses are a long negotiation between Jacob and his sons, about sending Benjamin along with the rest of the his sons. Jacob is resigned to the inevitable delayed trip and sends Benjamin along. In the end Jacob stops trying to keep his son safe, he puts his trust in God; “As for me, if I’m bereaved, I am bereaved.”
Vs.15-23 They make the trip and Joseph sends them to his house. We know the outcome, it is not a big deal. But his brothers were in the dark, they did not even have an inkling that they were dealing with the brother they had sold. As we saw in the last chapter a deep dread was hanging over them, the dread of God’s punishment for what they had done.
Now they were brought to Joseph’s residence, they were feeling the guilt and fear of not understanding what was going on. There are times when things happen to us that we do not understand, God provides a way to cope and to trust him. That is what happened here, in spite of Pharaohs attempt to limit the influence of God in Joseph’s household by marrying him off to the daughter of a priest, God was displayed by Joseph’s staff.
The brothers wanting to explain the returned silver, approached Joseph’s steward about the silver. Vs 23; “It’s all right,” he said. “Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver.’ Then he brought Simeon out to them.” Think about that; “your God, The God of your father,” Joseph’s steward comforts them and assures them that God is in control. He sends them back to their roots, their compass in life. As complicated Jacob’s life was, what his sons knew about God they got from their father, their parents. Our basic presupposition also comes from our parents, “the God of your father.(s)” .
Vs.24-32 When Joseph saw his younger brother Benjamin, he was “deeply moved” and had to find a place to weep. After more than ten years Joseph was thankful to be reunited with Benjamin and with all his brothers. When they saw the seating arrangement and “ they feasted and drank freely with him”, they must have become a little suspicious. God turned the horrible experience of the past and of their trips to Egypt into a blessing. Our God is good all of the time!
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Heavenhigh 