Chapter 43

Note 42:36 where Jacob said, “Me have ye bereaved of my children.” When he says that it is operation patsy. He is trying to blame it on someone else. If you want to be miserable as a believer for the rest of your life then take everything that you do and blame it on someone else, do not take any responsibility for your own actions. But the Bible says, no matter what happened or who else was involved, every believer must take responsibility for his own sins. That is why every believer has to confess his own sins. Jacob is blaming his sons.

43:6 – “And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me.” Judah has said that Benjamin is going to go. Jacob says in effect, “You didn’t have to tell him that my little pet was here. Why didn’t you lie to him?” If you want to be miserable try to solve everything by lying, by covering up. That was Jacob’s answer.

Verses 11 & 12 – human perspective. He is trying to solve the problem by bribing. In other words, solve everything with money. Add to this selfishness and indifference to the suffering of others. In other words, Jacob didn’t care who else got hurt but he didn’t want Benjamin to be hurt. Then there was self-pity and encouraging deceit to solve a problem—which doesn’t, solving a problem by appeasement rather than facing the issue and depending on the Lord.

Verse 14 – a problem of fatalism. What he is saying is, as a last resort maybe God will help us. That is not the faith-rest technique. In other words, after you have tried everything else boys, try God! “If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.” In other words, ‘Well, if I lose the boy, I lose the boy.’ Fatalism.

Verse 15 – they armed themselves with human viewpoint.

In verses 3-5, Judah is the one who finally speaks up. He shows signs of the leadership that will eventually come out in his great, great, grandson, David. We look at Judah from the standpoint of a leader plus the concept of inner happiness. He emphasises the true issue. He answers to problem as to why they have to take Benjamin. He faces the reality of the situation and in doing so he also can see the true issue: We cannot go back without Benjamin. The reason why selfish, self-pitying Jacob finally let go of Benjamin was because Judah laid the issue on the line.

A believer who is oriented to grace and is stabilised, is maturing, and operating on divine operating assets always sees life in reality. He can face the issues of life, can see the issues of life, and make a proper decision. The believer who has inner happiness which comes from doctrine and the filling of the Spirit can make the true issues of life real to the rest of the world. He knows grace, he understands grace, and when he witnesses he doesn’t bring in false issues. He doesn’t make an issue out of anything but Christ.

Verse 8 – Judah sticks to the stand he took. He doesn’t back down when his father pours some propaganda on him, he sticks by his guns. He stays with the issue in spite of the pressure his father put on him.

Verse 9 – the result. He assumes responsibility for the whole trip. One of the signs of a believer beginning to mature: inner happiness crystallizing in maturity is when the believer begins to assume responsibility.

Verse 32–34, the Egyptians would never think of eating at the same table as Jews. But at this table were the ten Jews, and what really shook them up were the place cards. No one could ever know the order in which these ten brothers would be seated. The order of seating for the brothers: at the head of the table is the eldest, next to him the next eldest, and so on down the line to the youngest at the foot of the table. When these ten brothers came and looked at their place cards they found that they were seated according to their age. No one but Jacob at home actually had this information, or someone in the family, and here is a stranger who has it. They must almost have died of the shock.

Verse 34 – Joseph sent more and the best things to Benjamin to see if the brothers still had the jealousy whereby they through him in the pit and sold him into slavery. They didn’t get jealous at all.