SERIES B --- A CHOSEN PEOPLE --- LESSON 17
A DIFFICULT CHOICE
THE GOVERNOR’S SECRET
From Genesis 42:18-43:15
To test his ten older brothers, Joseph had them all thrown into an Egyptian prison. But after three days, he released them so that he could have a talk with them. [Since I fear YHVH, I will make it possible for you to save your lives,] Joseph told them. [I will keep only one of you in prison, while the others go home with grain for your families. If you are honourable men, you will bring back your youngest brother as I require. When you do, I will know that you are telling the truth and will spare your lives.] [This is what we get for making our brother Joseph miserable,] they whispered to one another. [We watched his agony as he pleaded with us, but we wouldn’t listen.] [I told you not to do it!] Reuben said to the others. [You wouldn’t listen to me! Now we’re going to pay dearly for what we did to him.] The brothers did not realize that Joseph could understand their language, for he had spoken to them through an interpreter. But Joseph had heard and went away from them for a while and wept. When Joseph returned to his brothers, he ordered Simeon bound while his other brothers watched. He then told his men to fill the brothers’ grain sacks and secretly to put each man’s money in his sack, as well as some provisions for the trip. When the brothers had loaded their grain sacks on their donkeys, they headed back toward Canaan. That night, when they set up camp, one brother discovered his money when he opened his sack to feed the donkeys. [My money is here in the sack!] he shouted to his brothers. When they realized what had happened, the brothers trembled with fear. [What has YHVH done to us?] they cried out. Returning to Canaan, the brothers told their father Jacob what had happened to them. [The governor was harsh with us and accused us of being spies,] they reported. [We told him that we are honest men and that there were twelve of us. We told him that one brother is dead and one is home with his father. Now he insists that we bring Benjamin back with us to prove that we are telling the truth.] Then they emptied the grain sacks and their money tumbled from each one. At this, everyone was frightened, even Jacob. [You have bereaved me of my children,] Jacob cried out to them. [Joseph is gone! Simeon is gone! Now you want to take Benjamin, too!] [If I do not bring Benjamin back safely to you, then you may kill my own two sons,] Reuben said to his father. [I promise that I will bring him back.] [No, I will not let you take Benjamin,] said Jacob. [His only true brother is dead. I would die if anything should happen to Benjamin.] As time passed, the famine continued over the land. At last, the grain the brothers had bought in Egypt was almost gone. [Go back to Egypt and buy some more grain,] Jacob told his sons. [The governor warned us that we will never see him again unless we have Benjamin with us,] said Judah. [If you expect us to get grain in Egypt, we must take Benjamin. Without him, we will get nothing.] [Why did you do this to me?] Jacob moaned. [Why did you tell the governor that you had a brother back home?] [He asked us about our family,] they said. [He asked if our father was living and if we had any other brothers, so we told him the truth. How could we know that he would want us to bring Benjamin down?] Then Judah spoke to his father. [Send the boy with me so that we can start our trip! If we don’t go soon, we’ll all starve, including you and our children. I will guarantee his safe return and will forever take the blame if he does not come home safely. If we had not delayed so long, we would have been back by now.] At last Jacob gave in. [If there is no other way, then go. But take special gifts to the governor, choice products of our land, such as balsam, honey, spices, myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. Also, take twice as much money as you did before so you can pay for the grain as well as pay back what was in your sacks. Someone probably put the money there by mistake. Take your brother and go and may YHVH Almighty give you favour with the man so that he may let both Simeon and Benjamin come home. But if I must bear to see them die, then I must bear it.] So, with the money and gifts, the brothers took Benjamin and, with great fear, returned to the governor of Egypt.
COMMENTARY
JOSEPH’S TWO LANGUAGES: HEBREW AND EGYPTIAN
When ten of Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to buy food, Joseph did not tell them who he was. And they did not recognize this splendid Egyptian as the seventeen-year-old brother they had sold twenty years before. Joseph gave them food. He warned them that if they came again, they must bring their other brother Benjamin with them. But would Israel part with his youngest and now favourite son, even to avoid starvation. Joseph’s native language was Hebrew. But when he was sold as a slave in Egypt, it became necessary for him to learn a new language; Egyptian. Egyptian writing in Joseph’s time did not look anything like a modern language. The Egyptians formed most of their words with simple pictures or symbols that looked like the idea they wished to express. This kind of writing is called hieroglyphic (hi-er-o-GLIF-ic). It means [writing in pictures.] Sometimes hieroglyphics used a picture that expressed the sound of the word. A modern way to do this would be to use a picture of an eye to express -- I. Or the picture might merely be an image of the object to be expressed, such as a picture of a house to say -- house. The Hebrews did not write with pictures, but with their own unique characters. Each character stood for a syllable, not a letter. Thus, ancient Hebrew did not use vowels. Just as most readers today know that -- 2 bdrm apt -- means -- two-bedroom apartment, so the Hebrews understood their abbreviated language. Each character also meant something when it stood alone. Just as [beth] was a character, the second symbol in the alphabet, by itself it meant [house.] It is likely that as governor of Egypt, he may also have learned some other languages of his time.
Thought for Today: Sunday December 18:
May Father Elohiym work mightily today wherever you are. May He move mountains on your behalf. May He part the waters so you can pass through to your next place of Promise. May you grow in the knowledge of YHVH’s Love and become a flow-through-account of His blessings to a needy world.
In the freedom with which Messiah has made us free, stand firm, then, and do not again be held with a yoke of slavery. See, I, Sha’ul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Messiah shall be of no use to you. And I witness again to every man being circumcised that he is a debtor to do the entire Torah. You who are declared right by Torah have severed yourselves from Messiah, you have fallen from favour. For we, in Spirit, by belief, eagerly wait for the expectation of righteousness. For in Messiah יהושע neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any strength, but belief working through love. You were running well, who held you back from obeying the truth? That persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. A little leaven leavens all the lump. I trust in you, in the Master, that you shall have no other mind. And he who is troubling you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is. And I, brothers, if I still proclaim circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling-block of the stake has been set aside. O that those who disturb you would even cut themselves off! For you, brothers, have been called to freedom, only do not use freedom as an occasion for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the entire Torah is completed in one word, in this, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” And if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! And I say: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not accomplish the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. And these are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you desire to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under Torah. And the works of the flesh are well-known, which are these: adultery, whoring, uncleanness, indecency, idolatry, drug sorcery, hatred, quarrels, jealousies, fits of rage, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, murders, drunkenness, wild parties, and the like – of which I forewarn you, even as I also said before, that those who practise such as these shall not inherit the reign of Elohim. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustworthiness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no Torah. And those who are of Messiah have impaled the flesh with its passions and the desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Galatiyim (Galatians) 5:1-26 TS2009
https://bible.com/bible/316/gal.5.1-26.TS2009
The problem with offenses is not that they happen, because offenses are simply part of our existence. The problem comes with the responses. Hopefully the one who is offended will forgive, eventually, but what about the offender? What could he or she do, not only to minimize offenses, but to minimize the damage when offense inevitably happens?
https://thebarkingfox.com/2022..../12/17/whats-right-i
The problem with offenses is not that they happen, because offenses are simply part of our existence. The problem comes with the responses. Hopefully the one who is offended will forgive, eventually, but what about the offender? What could he or she do, not only to minimize offenses, but to minimize the damage when offense inevitably happens?
https://thebarkingfox.com/2022..../12/17/whats-right-i
I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:12-13
Bethlehem in Hebrew is [Beit Lechem] and the name literally has n numerical value of 490, and 490 is connected to forgiveness. Peter comes to Yeshua and says; [how many times do I have to forgive? Up to seven times?] I think Peter thought he was really spiritual by mentioning the number of completion. Yeshua answered him: [No, seventy times seven], which is 490. Of any number Yeshua could have chosen, why did He choose the number 490? Because 490 is also the numerical value of the Hebrew word Tamim, which mean to be perfect or complete. And, you cannot be perfect or complete in your faith unless you are willing to forgive. Let your heart be perfect in Hebrew, literally ads up to 490. – Rabbi Jason Sobel
SERIES B --- A CHOSEN PEOPLE --- LESSON 16
AN ACT OF FAITH
FAMINE!
From Genesis 41:46-42:17
At the age of thirty, Joseph had become governor of all Egypt. Only Pharaoh had more power in Egypt than he. Thus, he went from Pharaoh’s presence and travelled throughout the land. During the next seven years the land produced an abundance of grain. Joseph collected a part of that grain and put it in the storehouses built in the cities. He gathered so much grain that he stopped recording the amount for it was too much to write into his records. Before the famine came Joseph and Asenath had two sons. The older son was named Manasseh, which meant [Making to Forget,] for YHVH had helped Joseph forget the troubles of his younger years and the rejection by his family. The younger son was Ephraim, [To Be Fruitful,] for YHVH had helped Joseph be fruitful in the strange land which had brought him so much trouble. As time passed, the seven years of abundance came to an end and the seven years of famine began, as Joseph had told Pharaoh they would. There was famine everywhere, even in the lands that surrounded Egypt. When the people of Egypt grew hungry, they pleaded with Pharaoh to give them food. [Talk to Joseph,] he told them. [Do whatever he tells you.] As the famine crept over that part of the world, Joseph opened the storehouses and sold grain to all who came, both Egyptians and foreigners. Many came to buy grain from Joseph, for the famine was severe everywhere. About this time, Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt. [Why do you stand there, staring at one another?] he asked his sons. [Why don’t you go down to Egypt and buy grain for us so that we don’t starve?] Joseph’s ten older brothers went to Egypt to buy grain. Jacob would not let Benjamin go with them, for he was afraid of losing Rachel’s second child. Thus, the sons of Israel were among many who came from Canaan, for the famine had stretched across the land. As governor of all Egypt, Joseph was in charge of the sale of grain. Therefore, his brothers came to him to buy, bowing their foreheads to the ground before him. Of course, Joseph knew them at once and remembered his dreams of years ago. However, they did not recognize him so he pretended not to know them. [Where is your home?] he asked. [Canaan,] they answered. [We want to buy grain.] [No! You are spies!] he answered. [You have come to see where our land is weak!] [But we haven’t!] the ten protested. [We are honest men, all sons of one man. We have come to buy grain, not to spy the land.] [You are looking for weak places in the land,] Joseph insisted, hoping that they would say more to defend themselves. [We are twelve brothers,] they said. [The youngest brother is home in Canaan with our father and one is dead.] [Now you may prove that you are not spies!] said Joseph. [You shall not leave Egypt until your youngest brother is brought before me. One of you must go home to get him while the rest of you stay here in prison. Thus, you can prove what you say and I will know if you are honest or not. Otherwise, I will know that you are spies!] Then Joseph put them all in prison for three days.
COMMENTARY
PLANTING AND HARVESTING IN ANCIENT EGYPT
The first seven years of Joseph’s rule in Egypt were marked by abundant crops. Joseph drove the nation to construct great storage buildings to collect the surplus food. He was convinced that YHVH’s warning of famine was trustworthy. Joseph’s act of faith would preserve Egypt. And it would be the means YHVH used to provide food for the family of Israel as well. The farming cycle in ancient Egypt had three periods: inundation or flooding; growth; and harvest. All farming came to a standstill during the months of September, October and November; the months of inundation. Every year during this time, the Nile River overflowed its banks and flooded the land. Since there was almost no rainfall in Egypt, the flooding brought necessary moisture to the land, rock-hard after the sweltering summer. When the waters receded to their normal depth, they left behind a rich layer of silt that made the land extremely fertile. If the flooding did not happen, as during the years of the [low Nile,] the people faced months of famine. Such dependence on the yearly overflowing of the Nile for the fruits of the land remains true in modern Egypt. If more water was needed in the fields, the Egyptians had to use irrigation; they brought the water to the land themselves. They dug wells and trenches around the fields to supply the water. Otherwise, water was carried to the field pail by pail. By early December, the Nile had receded. The sun’s heat had diminished and; as the ancient Egyptians called it; [the fields are out.] The busiest season of the farming year began. It was time for ploughing, hoeing and sowing. The Egyptian plough was light and made of wood. It was hard to use and made the job of turning over the soil clumsy and difficult. Sometimes it was possible to skip this step and go directly into hoeing, which would break the great clods of mud into smaller pieces of earth. If the field lay close to the Nile, the farmer could also skip this step and plant the seeds directly without preparing the soil first. Whenever the field was sowed; either after ploughing or hoeing or immediately; it had to be done quickly, because the soil tended to dry up very fast. The sewer led the way, scattering seeds as he walked. Behind him came animals; usually pigs or sheep; whose hooves would trample the seed into the ground. The time for harvest was March or April. The reapers, using short sickles, would move through the fields cutting the grain. Behind them came the men or women who gathered the cut grain. The crop was then tied into sheaves and taken by donkey to be threshed. Donkeys or oxen walked on the sheaves, and their hooves loosened the grain from the stalks. The grain was then run through a sieve. After this, it was winnowed, usually by women. With long bent wooden forks, they tossed the grain into the air. The wind blew away the chaff, and the heavier, useful grain remained. This way of winnowing remains unchanged in the Middle East and in many places, it is still the job of women. The ancient Egyptians then sent a sample of the grain to the master for his approval. Another portion was given to the temple as an offering to be used by the priests for food. Two officials arrived when all was done; the [scribe of the granary] and the “measurer of the corn.” They measured the grain and recorded the amount taken to the granary for storage. Once again, the fields lay idle, turning to desert under the hot sun. The Nile River would return again, bringing flood and fertility into the land.
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