Gary Gleans

Joseph has eaten with his brothers, spent time with them and learned that his father is still alive.   He has seen that his brothers have grown up and matured through the years.   However, in the back of his mind there must have remained a doubt as to how genuine these changes really were.   This chapter gives us some key insights into the way that these men had changed with time. JOSEPH PUTS HIS BROTHER TO THE TEST: Joseph was well aware of the fact that his brothers’ hatred of him was due, in part, to the favoritism that his father had showed him.   Joseph would also know that his father would now treat Benjamin with this same favor.   When Benjamin did not come on the first visit he must have thought that his brothers had done to Benjamin what they had done to him.   Now on the second visit Benjamin is with them so he shows him special favor but then he frames him with the stealing of his cup.   Joseph wanted to single Benjamin out and give his brot...

We all try to put off the things that we fear as long as possible.   The last thing that Jacob wanted to do was send Benjamin with his brothers down to Egypt.   He had resigned himself to the fact that Joseph and Simeon were gone and his greatest fear was losing Benjamin.   The food situation got to be so bad that they either needed to go get food or risk everyone dying.   Jacob finally consented to let them go but was extremely worried. A WARY RETURN: The brother all came back to Egypt with gifts and double the money in order to pay back what had been returned to them and purchase additional food.   They feared that they would be treated harshly again.   It seems that the brothers had accepted the fact that their father favored the sons of Rebekah Judah promised to be responsible for Benjamin just as Ruben had promised to give his own children in Benjamin’s place.   They needed to get the food and realized they had to face whatever might come before t...

Joseph’s dream came true.   The famine that plagued Egypt spread to Canaan as well and all of Joseph’s brothers except for Benjamin came to purchase grain.   They could never guess that the ruler who was in charge of selling grain was the brother they had sold into slavery about twenty years earlier.   The brothers all bowed before Joseph and he recognized that God was in the process of making his dreams from so many years ago come true. GOD USES THE FAMINE: God had told Abraham from the very beginning that his descendants would spend 400 years in Egypt as slaves.   God had told Joseph that his brothers would bow down before him.   God brings about a famine in the land in order to accomplish what He had revealed so many years before.   Once again we see that the events of this planet are firmly in the hands of the Father.   His purposes are accomplished through means that we may not understand, but we must rest in the reality that they are indeed accom...

Sometimes the way up is down.   Joseph starts this chapter in prison and ends it in the palace.   Had he never been sent to prison, the likelihood of him rising to this position was negligible.   However, God place him in prison so that he could open a door through the prison into a position of great authority in Egypt.   Pharaoh’s dream presented the perfect opportunity for Joseph to be promoted due to the dreams he had interpreted in the previous chapter.   God’s orchestrating hand is obvious to us as we read these chapters side by side.   I think it is important for us to remember that in real life and real time these connections were not so obvious to Joseph just as they are not obvious to us in our daily walks.   That is where faith and obedience come into play.   Here are a few stepping stones that marked Joseph’s path from the poverty of prison to the prosperity of the palace. JOSEPH WAS REQUIRED TO WAIT: Years ago Joseph had been given a d...

Sometimes we experience something wonderful simply because we are in the right place at the right time.   Since we rarely are able to figure out where the right place is or when the right time is, it is vital that we learn to trust God who always holds the places and times of our lives in His hands.   Joseph needed to meet a specific person that would be key to his future, and God knew that the place they would be able to meet was in prison.   Sometimes we have a hard time seeing why God would allow certain circumstances in our lives, but we must trust that He knows what He is doing and that He will place us in the right place at the right time.   However we can also observe that Joseph did much do make sure that he was prepared to receive what God had in store. JOSEPH WAS FAITHFUL: The cup bearer and baker of Pharaoh we place in the same prison as Joseph.   Since Joseph was such a faithful servant, he was put in charge of caring for these very important prisone...

We see a stark contrast between Judah and his younger brother Joseph when we compare the previous chapter with this chapter.   Judah was a free man who was punished because of his lust and unfaithfulness.   Joseph was a slave who was blessed because of his self control and faithfulness.   Ironically, Judah remains free and Joseph ends up in prison.   We must never judge a person’s character by the circumstances they face.   Many times God calls His most faithful servants to face intense suffering.   This is how God, in His wisdom, chooses to prepare these faithful followers for service and equip them to glorify Him. JOSEPH IS PROSPEROUS AS A SLAVE: Joseph’s work in the fields and as administrator of Potiphar’s house is blessed by God.   His master has never experienced such prosperity and he wisely gives more and more responsibility to Joseph and experiences even greater wealth as a result of God’s blessing through Joseph.   We must never assume t...

The Scriptures never hesitate to paint its characters with warts and all.   Judah is the son of Israel through whom Christ was born, yet we are given a glimpse into his life and character that make us wonder why in the world he was chosen for this honor.   I think the answer lies in the grace of God.   The truth is that nobody is worthy of God’s favor or it could never be called grace.   The flaws that we see in Judah should be to us a source of both warning and hope; warning because these same sins are embedded deep within our hearts; hope because if God can use a man like this He can use us too. JUDAH’S FAMILY WAS STARTED IN DISOBEDIENCE: Perhaps the problems all started when Judah decided to marry a Canaanite woman.   Abraham and Isaac had both take precautions to make sure that their sons did not marry women from the land in which they lived.   It seems that Judah is overcome by passion for this girl and it appears that he has sexual relations with her ...