Eyes on the Plan-Maker: Genesis 42:1-17
Like Joseph, we can only follow God’s plan when we remain focused on God. With our eyes on God, we see His ways clearly. When we take our eyes off the world and focus our attention upon other things, we become distracted and pursue the lust of our eyes and our heart.
The famine hits, and it hits hardest for those with large families and great wealth. A single thief living in a city can often survive economic hardship with relative ease. They have one mouth to fill, can go wherever they want, and everything they get goes to support their effort for survival. Jacob, on the other hand, had eleven sons, all their wives, their kids, and all the sheep, goats, and cattle that came with being a nomad. When the famine hit, everything suffered because nothing had anything to eat. Jacob sends his sons to Egypt to buy grain.
Jacob had to send his sons. They were all adults, certainly one or more of them had considered Egypt having plenty of food. Instead of offering to go, they stared at each other and remained silent. Why would they remain silent with an answer at hand? The journey was hard; it would take several weeks to complete the round-trip journey. There was no guarantee foreigners would be received well in Egypt.
It is also probable they were haunted by the memory of Joseph. They sold Joseph to Ishmaelite slavers headed to Egypt. The thought of going to Egypt would have stirred up all kinds of memories. It would have also stirred up an old feud between Reuben and Judah, Judah being the one who suggested selling Joseph while Reuben was figuring out how to rescue Joseph. The mention of Egypt would have brought bad blood and old tension back to mind.
When they arrive in Egypt, Joseph is there to screen any foreigners who want to buy grain. Joseph couldn’t have managed all the locations where the grain was stored as the granaries were scattered throughout Egypt. Egyptians could likely come and go, though. They were trustworthy. Foreigners, on the other hand, would need to be vetted to determine who was a spy trying to evaluate how well Egypt was surviving the famine. Joseph uses this to his advantage.
Joseph accuses his brothers of being spies three times. Each time Joseph accuses them of being spies, the brothers deflect the accusation and claim their honest intentions. Some people think Joseph is mean here in his treatment of his brothers. He’s not. Joseph is following God’s plan. Back in Genesis 37, God showed Joseph a dream where all his brothers’ sheaves of grain bowed to him. God didn’t want ten brothers buying grain and going home. God wanted the whole family to come to Egypt and prosper. Joseph isn’t being mean; Joseph is following God’s plan. Like Joseph, we can only follow God’s plan when we remain focused on God.
