Today’s passage: Genesis 49:1-33

Helpful thoughts:

• Prior to Jacob’s death, he brings his sons together to give them their “blessing.”  He seems to understand that this blessing also includes what was to come in the future, and yet each blessing given was “suitable” to each son based on how they had lived.
• Jacob reserves the greatest and longest blessings for Judah and Joseph.
  • The brothers had bowed down to Joseph in Egypt.  But the children of Israel would one day bow down to a descendant of Judah!
• Jacob’s last words to his sons ensures he would be buried in the Promised Land.  The sons would take one more journey to the land God had promised them before the entire nation would return centuries later.

Questions to consider:

1. What is Jacob acknowledging in verse 18?  Would these men or their descendants be able to survive on their own?  Who did they (And we) need to intercede on their behalf?
2. “The obedience of the peoples” which Jacob refers to at the end of verse 10 speaks not just of Israel, but the nations.  How would this promise point forward to the reign of Jesus Christ? (e.g. Revelation 1:5)
3. In what ways had Joseph been “set apart” from his brothers (Verse 26)?  Who set him apart and for what purpose?  How has God’s providence been displayed through the narrative of the book of Genesis?  How can this encourage us to trust Him?

Today’s passage: Genesis 48:1-22

Helpful thoughts:

• In today’s passage, Jacob (Israel) will bless both Ephraim and Manasseh (Joseph’s sons) as his own.  In this way, Joseph is given a double-portion in the inheritance (Verse 15, “And he blessed Joseph and said…”).
• This chapter begins with “Manasseh and Ephraim” entering Jacob’s presence.  The chapter ends with “Ephraim and Manasseh” blessed and ready to depart.
  • Once again, the younger is blessed over the older.
• Jacob assures Joseph their people would return to the Promised Land as God has promised.
  • Though the land of the Amorites was taken by Joseph’s brothers (Genesis 34), Jacob allots the land to him.  Joseph’s bones would later be taken to this land for burial (Joshua 24:32).

Questions to consider:

1. Why would Joseph have been perplexed by Jacob’s switching of the birth order of Ephraim and Manasseh?  Was Joseph the first born?  Why might he have considered himself the firstborn?  Who was his mother?
2. More than the land or all their possessions, what did Jacob truly give to the boys?  What did he tell them about before blessing them (Verses 3-4)?  Why is this significant?  To whom did the boys ultimately belong?  Who was truly giving them the land, the possessions and the promise?
3. Jacob knew God had promised to be with him.  How long did he believe God had been with him (Verse 15)?  Will your Great Shepherd ever leave you or forsake you?

Today’s passage: Genesis 47:1-31

Helpful thoughts:

• The Lord blessed Jacob and the family not only with land within which to thrive, but they also got a royal job!
• The land of Rameses (Verse 11) is most likely a later name for the land of Goshen.  This would have helped the Jewish people to have a better understanding of where their forefathers had dwelt in Egypt.
• The remaining details of how Joseph led Egypt through the duration of the famine is given.  By the end of the famine, the people of Egypt revere Joseph for saving their lives and the Pharaoh has become exceedingly wealthy.
  • Jacob lived another 12 years after the completion of the famine (17 years after he met Pharaoh).
  • In these years, the people of Israel were fruitful and multiplied “greatly.”

Questions to consider:

1. At the conclusion of the famine, who all in Egypt were slaves to Pharaoh?  Who wasn’t?  Why were the people thankful to Joseph for this outcome?
2. How does knowing the Israelites were free people and prospering and multiplying “greatly” foreshadow what would occur in the future?  How would the tables turn against Israel?
3. What did Jacob’s desire to be buried in the Promised Land convey concerning his faith in God?  What did Jacob believe God would do?  What promises should we remember and cling to as we sojourn through this life?

Today’s passage: Genesis 46:1-34

Helpful thoughts:

• Once again, before Jacob leaves the Promised Land, the Lord meets with him and confirms His promise, “I will go down with you…and I will also bring you up again.”  The nation that comes from Jacob’s descendants would once again return to the Promised Land.
  • See Genesis 28:15.
• A great nation was promised to come up out of Egypt centuries later.  But the group (The family) that went down to Egypt (Including Joseph’s) was approximately seventy.
  • Jacob chose a specific son to lead the way for the family to go down to Egypt.  He chose Judah.
• Joseph continued to show his ability to manage situation with great wisdom.  By informing Pharaoh of his family’s work as shepherds, they would remain distinct (Separate) from the Egyptians so not to be assimilated into the culture (They were to be God’s chosen nation who worship Him alone).  It also provided them a great area of land so that they and their flocks could flourish.

Questions to consider:

1. What was different about Jacob’s stay in Beersheba before he left for Egypt in contrast to his stay in Beersheba before he left for Haran in Genesis 28?  What did he do before God communicated his promise in today’s passage?
2. What is significant about Judah’s new role as the leader of the family?  Who chose him for this role?  What evidence have we seen that Judah has become a servant leader?
3. Knowing that Christ is building His church from every tribe, tongue and nation on the earth, we can be sure that separation from the world does not refer to race or location or other things like that.  So, what then does separation from the world refer to?  In what ways is the church to be separated from the world (2 Corinthians 6:14-18)?

Today’s passage: Genesis 45:1-28

Helpful thoughts:

• Joseph had tested his brothers intensely.  When they (Especially Judah) refused to give their brother up, he couldn’t contain himself any longer.  It was time to let them know who he was.
• Joseph makes it clear, he believes God put him in Egypt to save their family.
  • “It was not you who sent me here, but God.”  This is a statement of Joseph’s faith and belief in the providence of God.
• There was only one man in all of Egypt who could tell Joseph what to do.  Pharaoh commanded Joseph to bless his family and bring them to Egypt in order to prosper.

Questions to consider:

1. How many things did Joseph attribute to God in this passage?
2. How did Jacob take the news of Joseph’s survival and new job?  Remembering the “Heart” can refer to the inner man (The immaterial spirit or mind of a man), what would it have been like for Jacob’s “heart” to go numb and then for him to “revive?”
3. Previously, we have considered how Judah pictured Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice.  Now we look to Joseph.  How did Joseph’s humbling journey into a place that was not his home to save/preserve a remnant of people point forward to Jesus?

Today’s passage: Genesis 44:1-34

Helpful thoughts:

• Now that the brothers had seen Benjamin was clearly favored, they were given an opportunity to leave him behind in Egypt and lie to their father all over again, just as they’d done with Joseph.  They wouldn’t make the same mistake.
  • According to the deal they’d struck with Joseph’s steward, the brothers were free to leave Benjamin behind as soon as the cup had been found.  They were free to go.  Instead, they saddled up and went back to Egypt, all of them!
  • They were given this offer again from Joseph once in Egypt, but they wouldn’t leave their brother behind.
• Judah continues to evidence his repentance.  He offers (Pleads) to take the place of Benjamin.

Questions to consider:

1. In what way was Joseph’s dream realized again in verse 14?  What was the spirit of the brothers in this instance of their bowing before their brother?
2. How is the response of all the brothers different than it had been when they had sold Joseph into slavery?  Contrast their sale of Joseph with their protection of Benjamin.  What does true repentance look like?
3. In what way does Judah, once again, picture what Jesus would later do for us?  In what way was Christ offered as a substitute for us?

Today’s passage: Genesis 43:1-34

Helpful thoughts:

• The brothers has asserted their honesty by voluntarily sharing information about Benjamin to Joseph when they were last in Egypt.  Now, prior to their second journey they dishonestly convince their father they only shared about Benjamin’s existence because of intense questioning.
• Judah’s transformation is beginning to be seen in verse 8.  He is willing to protect what would have been a source of jealousy in the past.  He is thinking sacrificially for the benefit of others (Love).
• The Egyptians were not fond of shepherds (Genesis 46:34).  This could have been the reason they would not eat with them.  Joseph couldn’t eat with the Egyptians, but he didn’t want to give his brothers any clue to his identity, so he ate alone.

Questions to consider:

1. Why were the brothers sitting in amazement at this meal?  What all had transpired which seemed beyond belief?
2. In what ways was Joseph’s affection for his full brother Benjamin expressed?  How could this have increased the testing of the rest of his brothers?  What had they done with Joseph when it was clear he had been favored?
3. In what way is Judah beginning to be a picture of the coming Lion of Judah (Jesus Christ)?  How did Christ offer himself in our place, taking our blame?

Today’s passage: Genesis 42:1-38

Helpful thoughts:

• After 20 years, Joseph’s prophetic dream was fulfilled in verse 6.  His brothers (unbeknown to them) have bowed down to Joseph.
  • Verse 9 ensures we remember that, just as Joseph did at that moment.
• In order to prove just how “honest” they were to this powerful “stranger” from Egypt, the brothers shared far more information than they would have needed to.  Joseph uses it to test them.
  • The brothers saw the whole ordeal as a judgment from God for their sin against Joseph.  In their attempts to show just how honest they were, they were confronted with their sin and lies.  Their consciences were troubled.
• Reuben’s attempt to earn his father’s trust probably accomplished the opposite.  Reuben had been impetuous and foolish before (Genesis 35:22).  His offer to slay his own sons just further proved his carelessness.  He could not be trusted.

Questions to consider:

1. What is the irony of the brothers’ claim to be honest men?  How could their attempt to prove they were honest have been a sign they were still up to their old scheming tricks?
2. Why did Joseph weep when he heard his brothers’ assumption concerning the judgment of God?  What did he learn when he heard them talking with each other in the prison?
3. Is this passage descriptive or prescriptive?  Meaning, are there any commands for us in this passage?  How do we differentiate the ways we see God providentially moving Israel to Egypt and the kinds of things we should be doing in obedience to him?

Today’s passage: Genesis 41:37-57

Helpful thoughts:

• Joseph was the wisest and best able to discern because God was with him.  Pharaoh wouldn’t have understood this the way we do, but it was written in a way we would easily understand.
• Pharaoh clothed Joseph, gave him the royal signet ring, a new name, and even an Egyptian wife to assimilate Joseph into Egyptian culture.
  • Though Joseph had been made as Egyptian as possible, he never forgot who he was.  His sons’ names were in the Hebrew language and recounted God’s work in Joseph’s life.
• God gave Pharoah the dreams.  God gave Joseph the interpretation and the wisdom to resolve the issues.   God gave Joseph power over Egypt.  God did all of this to bring about His decreed will.  Pharoah wasn’t in charge.  Joseph wasn’t in charge.  God was, is, and always will be in charge.

Questions to consider:

1. Being a polytheist in Egypt, what might Pharaoh have thought about the spirit of God (Or the spirit of the gods) being in Joseph to give him this wisdom?  What would his perspective probably have been?  What do we know was happening?
2. How long had Joseph been in Egypt as a slave and/or inmate (Genesis 37:2, 41:46)?  Which years of his life did he give to this service while he waited for God to bring about the fulfilment of his own dreams?  How would cultural expectations of our day have made it hard for him to wait on the Lord’s timing?
3. In what ways has God’s power been on display in today’s and the previous day’s passages?  How is He showing his sovereignty over all (Even the most powerful kings)?