Bible Chapter: Genesis 42

Because the Bible is practical, here are some statements to get you thinking.

1.  Write one or two key thoughts that come from today’s reading.
    I remember my grandmother telling us a biblical principle from Numbers 32, be sure your sins will find you out.  She wanted us to know that if we try to do something sinful, it will eventually be revealed and we will have to face the consequences.  We can be assured that at some time the impact of our sinful decisions will come and we will have to realize the destruction that results.  Here we find the ten brothers who conspired to get rid of Joseph and then agreed to cover their sin are facing what they did.  It had been at least twenty years, and finally they were forced to deal with the reality of their sin.  It was now their survival and the survival of their whole family that was at stake.  If Joseph refused to sell them food, they would starve.
    When the famine God revealed through Pharaoh’s dreams came, it affected Joseph’s extended family back home.  Ten of his brothers came to buy food.  They had the money needed and were willing to pay for it.  Joseph used this time to try to find out if his brothers had repented of their actions.  He hid his identity from them and demanded that they bring their brother, Benjamin, with them the next time they needed to buy food.  This was the first contact Joseph had had with his family, and the first news in over twenty years.  He was delighted to hear that his father was still alive.

2.  What can I apply in my life from the reading?
    We don’t know the process and timing, but it appears that the brothers had repented of their sin of selling Joseph as a slave.  It appears that their hearts had changed.  Making sure that our hearts are right is an extremely high priority.  I must be sure my heart is always right with God.  Jesus said in Matthew 15:18 NKJV
18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.
    This is a very important truth to apply in life.

3.  How can I help someone?
    A common excuse to sin is that “I can do what I want because it doesn’t affect anyone else”.  That is a major lie.  What we do impacts many people.  If only Joseph’s brothers understood that, how things would have been different.  Much sorrow would have been avoided.