Boyd's Commentary: 2020-21 Edition

By R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation

The 2020-2021 Boyd's Commentary is a resource for planning and preparation for pastors, directors, teachers, students, or anyone searching for a deeper relationship with Christ. It follows the International Uniform Sunday School Lesson Outline from the National Council of Churches, and it is filled with scholarly, yet practical descriptions and exposition for modern Christians. Readers will find Boyd's Commentary useful in their search for increased wisdom and theological insight (Proverbs 4:7) for walking in the way of Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation
• Release date: Jun 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781681677590

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FIRST

QUARTER

September

October

November

Lesson material is based on International Sunday School Lessons and International Bible Lessons for Christian Teaching, copyrighted by the International Council of Religious Education, and is used by its permission.

GENESIS 37:2–11, 23–24, 28

MAIN THOUGHT: And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying. (Genesis 37:11, KJV)

LESSON SETTING

Time: Unknown

Place: Egypt

LESSON OUTLINE

I. Hate in the Family

(Genesis 37:2–11)

II. The Result of Hate

(Genesis 37:23–24, 28)

UNIFYING PRINCIPLE

Jealousy, hate, and love are emotions people experience in their families. How do people deal with these emotions? An absence of love for Joseph by his brothers led to envy and finally a plot to kill him.

INTRODUCTION

The family is made up of loved ones who know us best, in front of whom our vulnerability is on full display. In this divine institution we are introduced to love for the first time, either by the demonstration of it or by the longing for it in its absence. The family is also where love is tragically tested. Whether by grief, betrayal, unfaithfulness, neglect, and more, the strength of a family’s love is measured by its ability to navigate the uncertain waters these inevitable life experiences cause. Family dysfunction is unfortunately the evidence of love failing to do so. But failed love doesn’t mean lost love. At the least, failed love implies an attempt to love was made, and there’s hope in that. Lost love, on the other hand, is when love has been buried beneath the layers of pain until the flame of its true expression has been totally deprived of much needed oxygen. Like fertilizer, the decomposition of dying love feeds the root of hate in the wake of its eventual and inevitable demise. A scar flourishes in its place, reminiscent of where love once was and is no more.

Sounds depressing, I know, but its unfortunately indicative of the drama played out in the ancient family of the patriarchs of Israel. As the last of the three great patriarchs, Jacob, whose name was changed by God to Israel, was both a victim and perpetrator of lost love in the family. As the youngest son of Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob was favored by his mother, while Isaac his father favored his older brother Esau. This favoritism played out with tragic results. Rebekah and Jacob conspired to manipulate Isaac into giving Jacob the birthright blessing intended for Esau because he was the firstborn. Because of this, Esau hated his brother and vowed to kill him upon the death of their father (Gen. 27:41).

As if inherited by the next generation, hatred in the family again revealed its ugly head among Jacob and his twelve sons. Similar to the favoritism that plagued his family of origin, Jacob favored his second youngest son, Joseph, more than the rest of his sons. Jacob’s older sons hated Joseph like his brother Esau hated him, and their hatred for him resulted in tragedy.

Known by many scholars as Joseph’s narrative or Joseph’s Novella, Genesis 37 opens with a brief introduction of Joseph as a young man. At the time of the lesson, he was seventeen years old and enjoying the life of entitlement and privilege. But that would soon change.

EXPOSITION

I. HATE IN THE FAMILY

(GENESIS 37:2–11)

Joseph was the firstborn of Jacob’s favorite wife Rachel. This is why he loved Joseph more than all his other children and also because he was the son born in his old age, the eleventh son. Being favored and showing favoritism was part of Jacob’s legacy. He was favored by his mother Rebekah, and his father Isaac favored his older brother Esau over him. Jacob favored his second wife Rachel over his first wife Leah. Actually, Jacob never wanted Leah as a wife but was tricked by the sisters’ father, Laban, into marrying her. He then was given Rachel in marriage after a total of fourteen years of labor. This history of parental relationships certainly played out in the way in which their offspring were treated. Thus Jacob favored Joseph heavily for the reasons mentioned above.

Sibling rivalry and parental favoritism are a repeated theme within the stories of the families of Genesis. As mentioned, Jacob was favored by his mother and rivaled with his brother Esau. This pattern, however, was entrenched as it was three generations deep. Abraham favored his son of his wife, Isaac, over his son of his slave, Ishmael, ultimately leading to Ishmael and Hagar’s removal from their home. Parental favoritism and sibling rivalry have catastrophic results as forecasted by the stories mentioned above and the Cain and Abel narrative of Genesis 4.

Jacob overtly flaunted his favoritism for his younger son by gifting Joseph a specially-made tunic. This further spurred ire and rage against Joseph when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than them. They hated him and could not speak peaceably to him to the extent that their resentment could not be abated. Their anger toward Joseph was kindled by sight. The Hebrew in this text indicates that as they saw Jacob’s bias, as they saw the tunic representing Jacob’s favoritism, their hatred for Joseph was renewed each time they saw him. It was a cycle of close quarters—at each turn they saw something so that whenever they saw Joseph, they could not stand the sight of him.

Joseph didn’t help matters when he pressed his brothers to hear the dream God gave him. In his artlessness and infantilism, he shared the dream, not to offend or boast but hopefully to impress. His brothers, however, were not impressed. Instead they disdained him all the more. In one of his dreams, the sheaves of Joseph and his brothers were symbols of their lives and what was to come. Joseph’s sheaf stood upright while the sheaves of his brothers stood all around and bowed low in symbolic subjection to Joseph’s. In the second of Joseph’s dreams, the sun, moon, and eleven stars all were bowing to him. Whatever Joseph’s intent in telling the dreams, wisdom dictated he should have been quiet.

Joseph’s dreams gave evidence to his special purpose, but he was most naive in thinking his brothers would rejoice along with him. This was only another reminder for them. His father rebuked him when Joseph told his dreams again in front of him and his brothers. The content of the second dream undermined Jacob’s position as head of household and indicated he and Joseph’s mother along with his brothers would bow down before Joseph in subjugation. The end result of the dream episode was the hot jealousy of the brothers. Jacob, however, guarded the conversation without passing judgment and instead kept the matter close to his heart. Ironically the brothers, who reacted in an emotionally charged manner against the dream, were the ones who ended up fulfilling it. While Jacob, who did not react poorly, did not end up being part of its fulfillment in later chapters.

II. THE RESULT OF HATE

(GENESIS 37:23–24, 28)

The brothers carried out a plot against Joseph when he came to them in verse 23. Their plan included forcibly taking the special coat. The brothers stripped Joseph and threw him into a pit. Their initial plan was to kill Joseph, but Reuben thought it better to keep him hostage in a pit. The text reveals he wanted to take Joseph back to their father to restore himself to Jacob’s good graces (Gen. 37:21–22). Reuben had slept with Bilhah, Jacob’s concubine, and was on the periphery of his father’s graces (35:22). When Reuben slept with Bilhah, it was an affront to Jacob’s status as head of household. Interestingly, it also may be that Reuben had some sense of kinship with Joseph as he would have understood the boy’s ambition. The brothers thought following Reuben’s plan was the better of two (plus he was the oldest) and threw Joseph into a pit until they could figure out what to do with him. The aggressive way they stripped the coat off Joseph describes a violent act that infers the forceful removal of a garment. Meaning, they did it with extreme cruelty. The pit where they threw him, though it spared his life, only prolonged his agony, as he was left to rot. When the Midianite traders passed by. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery. According to the original Hebrew, the way the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit was with the same aggressive contempt they had throwing him in the pit.

Joseph’s selling into slavery is a parallel for many African Americans, as it is understood we were sold to lands and people unknown for personal gain by those later considered our kinsmen and women. It is important to bear in mind a major difference. Even as it was Africans selling Africans, there was no such thing as an African identity. Smaller groups of people were ruled by kings, queens, and chieftains who did what they thought best for themselves, families, people, lands, and kingdoms. They sold their enemies, not kinsmen and women. Joseph’s story differs in that the brothers sold their kinsman who was their perceived enemy. Perhaps we can learn who our kinsmen and women are or, as Jesus put it, our neighbor.

The brothers sold Joesph for a mere twenty shekels of silver. According to extrabiblical material, this was the going rate for slaves in the second millennium B.C. According to Leviticus 27:2–7, it was the price for redeeming people/property for a young male of five to twenty years old. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, and because of his youth and vitality, there is little doubt the traders believed Joseph would fetch a greater price and profit in Egypt.

Joseph’s entrance to Egypt was an interesting turn of the plot. Israelite tension with Egyptian power is well-documented in the Old Testament. That tension was represented well by Joseph’s great-grandfather, Abraham. Abraham went to Egypt to escape a famine and while there failed to acknowledge Sarai as his wife. Sarai was then taken for the pharaoh’s wife. As a result, a plague came over Pharaoh’s household. Then pharaoh dismissed Abraham and Sarai upon learning she was his wife and sister, not just the latter (Gen. 12:10–20). This earlier story intersects with our current lesson in two important ways. First, Abraham was escaping famine in Egypt, which portends the brothers’ later descent to Egypt for the same reason. The famine eventually caused Joseph’s rise to power in this same Egypt. Second, the Abrahamic story seems to serve as a backdrop to the continued tension between Israelites and Egyptians. By the book of Exodus, the Egyptians had enslaved the Israelites and even after their emancipation were a looming political and military power in the region. This story demonstrates their relative geographic proximity and interconnectedness. Joseph was going to lands known and unknown, where Israelite safety was in question, as shown by Abraham’s fear and subsequent statement (Gen. 12:12–13). If the story were to end here, the reader would be left to wonder what happened to Joseph.

THE LESSON APPLIED

In this lesson, the three examples of Jacob, Joseph, and the brothers give light to the complexity of family dysfunction that exists today in many families. Families that are devoid of love inevitably fall apart, as love is the glue that binds all hearts together. God is love, and therefore, a family without it has no room for God to abide in the midst. Because God is love, He can restore it when it’s lost. How He chooses to, however, is uncertain, and when He chooses is according to His time. For Joseph, love eventually returned (for those who know the story), but it took time for God to penetrate their hearts. Such is the case for the modern family. For those of us who are experiencing the debilitating effects of lost love, know that in God nothing is ever lost. In Him, whatever is hidden will be revealed and whatever is lost can be found, even if it’s love.

LET’S TALK ABOUT IT

It has been said, Family is where life begins and love never ends. That being the case, who or what is to blame for the love lost between Joseph and his brothers? Clearly the plot to kill Joseph implicates his older brothers as the primary reason for what caused the love to fade. Certainly they are to blame, but are they the only ones? What about Joseph? Though he was the victim, could he also have contributed to his own misfortune?

Most of us grew up learning about Joseph being morally superior to his brothers. This wasn’t so. Joseph was not perfect and had flaws like everyone else. For example, Joseph leveraged his father’s favoritism in an unwise way. He was a tattletale, if not an outright slanderer of his brothers (Gen. 37:2). He accepted and wore the outward symbol of his father’s partiality. Perhaps, the greatest insult was when Joseph chose to tell his brothers, prematurely, of his dreams that seemed to imply he would rule over the family. So, in addition to his brothers, Joseph was also complicit in the love lost in the family.

Consider also the complicity of their father. Though he didn’t have a major role in Joseph’s narrative, Jacob’s contribution to the family’s dysfunction and subsequent loss of love among them was just as significant, if not more so. He purposely favored Joseph over the rest of his sons without regard of the consequence in so doing. Instead of addressing the tension between them, Jacob doubled down in his favoritism by making Joseph a special coat. For Joseph, the coat was the physical representation of his father’s favor, but for his brothers it was a constant sign that Joseph, not them, would receive the birthright blessing.

They all were responsible for the lost love, though not equally. When love is lost in the family, it is incumbent that everyone involved take ownership and responsibility to address the dysfunction. There usually is enough blame to go around. The good news in this passage is that family dysfunction can be overcome with love as the foundation. Joseph exhibited this type of love and saved his family from total destruction. His relationship with God made all the difference. When we turn to God, He will help us to do what is right.

HOME DAILY DEVOTIONAL READINGS

SEPTEMBER 7–13, 2020

GENESIS 41:25–33, 37–40, 50–52

MAIN THOUGHT: And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. (Genesis 41:39–40, KJV)

LESSON SETTING

Time: Unknown

Place: Egypt

LESSON OUTLINE

I. Facing Pharaoh

(Genesis 41:25–33)

II. The Power of a Dream

(Genesis 41:37–40)

III. Using Family to Heal Fractures

(Genesis 41:50–52)

UNIFYING PRINCIPLE

It may be difficult to hold on to dreams of future success when faced with extreme hardships. What inner resources are needed to continue one’s quest for success? Because Joseph loved and obeyed God, he was able to engage in wise and discerning problem-solving that motivated Pharaoh to appoint him second-in-command over all of Egypt.

INTRODUCTION

Family difficulties caused by factors outside of the family, such as sickness, economic failure, or global pandemic that arise naturally, can be challenging to cope with. But when family challenges are caused by and are the symptoms of self-inflicted wounds, the ability to cope may feel like an impossible feat. Truthfully, some of the most egregious offenses we encounter in our lives will be orchestrated, if not perpetrated, by family members who claim to love us. When this is a reality, a person may be inclined to ask the Lord, "Why would You allow me to be born into this family? And His answer: Because it’s necessary to bring out in you what you were made to become in Me."

Just as the character of a plant is determined by the soil in which it grows, so it is with us. Regardless of the condition of the soil from which we are both planted in and grow out of, the composition of our family environment helps determine the shape of our character. The hurt and pain we endure from the family, though difficult to bear, are a part of what God allows to strengthen our resolve in Him.

There is no clearer example of this in the Bible than the life of Joseph—after he was sold into slavery by his brothers. From the time the Midianite traders took him into custody, Joseph was saddled with an ever-growing bitterness for his brothers. (Can you blame him?) The trauma of being forcefully separated from your family by those who claim to love you is pretty hard to fathom, let alone forgive.

What’s worse is that this same unfair treatment became a common theme throughout Joseph’s experience in Egypt. He was falsely accused of raping Potiphar’s wife, which resulted in his imprisonment. After interpreting the dream of the chief cupbearer of his imminent restoration to position, he was forgotten for two years by that same cupbearer to whom he gave hope. So, at the time of today’s lesson, Joseph was in prison. And yet, God was still with him. After the baker finally told Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who Joseph was and what he could do, the king summoned him from prison to interpret a puzzling dream he had. Joseph’s life was about to change. While his dreams in the beginning of the narrative led to his imprisonment, his interpretation of dreams at the end led to his empowerment. Sometimes our worst experiences can be the seeds that bring the most favorable outcomes in the long run.

EXPOSITION

I. FACING PHARAOH

(GENESIS 41:25–33)

Joseph responded to Pharaoh’s request to interpret both of his dreams by explaining the two were one in meaning. God gave Pharaoh two different dreams with the same message to emphasize the importance of the message the dreams conveyed. According to Joseph, they were a forecast of what God was about to do for and in Egypt. In Pharaoh’s first dream, there were two sets of seven cows. The first set was healthy and fat, while the second set was bony and skinny. In his dream, the cows from the second set ate the fat cows from the first and yet were still bony and skinny. Being awakened by the confusion of the dream, he later went back to sleep and dreamed again. The second dream was similar to the first, only it was with grain instead of cows. Seven heads of grain full and plenty were swallowed up by seven ears of withered corn that sprouted later.

Joseph stated the two dreams meant God had decided they would happen soon. This reminds the reader of Joseph’s double dreams at the beginning of the narrative. His dreams would come to pass. All that was left to determine was when and how they would be fulfilled.

According to Joseph, the seven good cows and seven full heads of grain typified seven years of great plenty and economic prosperity that Egypt soon would enjoy. However, this seven-year period of plenty immediately would be followed by seven years of extreme famine, symbolized in the dream by the seven thin and ugly cows and the seven empty heads of grain. The devouring of the fat cows and healthy grain by thin and ugly ones was interpreted by Joseph to mean the seven years of great famine would be so severe the memory of the seven years of great plenty would fade in the despair of their scarcity. According to Genesis 41:30–31, the foreshadowed famine would totally deplete the land of all resources, completely decimating Egypt’s economy.

Our closest corollary would be a recession. The economy comes to a grinding halt and even basic items may be difficult to purchase. For us, unemployment rises and those living on the fringes of society often fall off the proverbial cliff. Even some who were doing well during better times see major upheaval and catastrophe. These moments tend to make us forget better times or at least long for them.

Joseph exceeded the expectations of the king’s initial request when he proceeded to advise him as to what steps should be taken in light of the interpretation. He suggested preventative measures instead of reactionary policy. His proposal to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land during the plentiful years as a reserve for the seven years of famine distinguished him to the pharaoh as the kind of administrator who should lead the nation in coping through this disaster. Though Joseph encouraged the ruler to select someone who was a discerning and wise man who could be trusted to govern over the land of Egypt, he knew within himself that God had positioned him to be that one. It was a kind of backhanded self-promotion and self-deprecation. It worked for Joseph but is not recommended for everyone.

In this way Joseph acted shrewdly. It is likely that in his time in Egypt, Joseph gained a mind for political maneuvering. From Potiphar’s house to the prison, Joseph always was able to position himself well, close to those who were in charge. In truth, this may have been something innate, as he also positioned himself well in his family of origin, next to Jacob. Obviously, given his nature, he was not going to let the opportunity go to waste. Slavery and prison sharpened his tools.

II. THE POWER OF A DREAM

(GENESIS 41:37–40)

The plan Joseph proposed to Pharaoh seemed good in his eyes and in the eyes of all his servants. If he followed the strategy, it would guarantee Egypt’s economic stability during the imminent famine. The question the king asked next was key to the success of this strategy: Can we find such a one as this who is competent enough to provide this kind of leadership? Pharaoh quickly realized that just like the dream, this plan was also from God. Therefore, only one who was familiar with God and in whom the Spirit of God resided needed to apply for the job. Because of his faithfulness to God, Joseph’s name was at the top of a short list of possible candidates. In fact, in Pharaoh’s eyes, his was the only name. Though the king had the dreams, Joseph was the only one to whom God had shown all this. Prudence demanded he should be the one to oversee the project. The required disposition, according to Pharaoh, was one who was discerning and wise. To him, no other person fits that profile better than Joseph.

To support Joseph’s leadership in carrying out this robust economic plan, the pharaoh endowed him with great authority and power limited only by his own throne. Joseph was given the task to oversee both the domestic affairs of the ruler’s house and the government of his people. Ultimately, Joseph was invited by the pharaoh to rule alongside him as second-in-command. He was given new clothing, a new chariot, a new position, and a new name. Joseph was given a new identity.

III. USING FAMILY TO HEAL FRACTURES

(GENESIS 41:50–52)

The children who were born to Joseph before the predicted years of the famine were evidence of the economic prosperity Egypt enjoyed. The names of his two sons represented the mind Joseph had regarding his new life in Egypt. The naming formula, which included the explanation for the name, is well-documented in Genesis 3:20; 4:25; 26:20. Commonly, the Israelite mother assigned the name of the child based on her interpretation or sentiment of the event (Gen. 4:25; Ex. 2:10; 1 Sam 1:20). Joseph, however, gave his sons Hebrew names that conveyed his response to his Egyptian experience. The name of his firstborn Manasseh, or he who makes someone forget, implied that the joy of his son had made him forget the sadness he experienced in his father’s house, a sadness he had not forgotten but had carried for a long time. That he made no attempt to learn about his family even after his rise to power confirmed not that he forgot his past but rather was trying to forget his past. He also had forgotten the hard trail in Egypt that it took to get to this point. Though his life had changed for the better, his bitterness remained and impeded his ability to forgive those of his past. While he recognized the Lord’s faithfulness in making him fruitful in the land of his affliction, the name he gave his second son Ephraim, or to bear fruit, conveyed his attempt to build a new family on top of the hurt from the past of the old. The names of his sons stood in contrast. Joseph forgot even as he was fruitful. His most difficult moments placed him in position to become his best self. That which he attempted to forget was also what caused him to be fruitful. It was the gift and curse of pain that was both blessing and blight.

Ironically, the births of his sons caused Joseph to consciously remember the pain he had experienced. He did not mention his father’s household or allude to his painful experiences until they were born. Even as he forgot, he remembered. The only thing that could heal his wounds were not the trappings of success, but family.

THE LESSON APPLIED

Joseph had legitimate reasons to be bitter, given all he had endured before securing a position in the king’s palace. But he also had good reason to be encouraged. Despite the thirteen years of a hardening heart that had become weathered by the toxic winds of betrayal, abandonment, and injustice, the Lord was still with him (Gen. 39:2, 21). His role in Potiphar’s house and his service in the king’s prison helped prepare Joseph to fulfill his destiny as the instrument of God to preserve and reposition the posterity of His people.

As a slave in Potiphar’s house, Joseph learned how to be an administrator, managing the day-to-day operations of the master’s household. This prepared him on a smaller level for what he would do for the economy of Egypt on a much bigger scale. Because the prison he was in was the king’s prison, Joseph’s time was spent interacting with and learning from individuals who would have been knowledgeable of the customs and practices in Egypt. By practicing these, Joseph became a more amenable subject before the king.

For every negative experience, there is a positive to match. We only have to search for it. Through the crucible of life, our gaze can become sharpened to recognize Christ hidden in the midst of a crisis. The love we have for the Savior enables us to see past the haze of bitterness and look toward a hope for something better.

LET’S TALK ABOUT IT

When you examine your life and all of the great things you’ve been blessed to achieve and accomplish, do you appreciate all it took to get where you are? It’s easy to reflect on with delight all of the positive features of your journey. But what about the pitfalls, setbacks, and failures. Do we reflect on them too? Do we celebrate the worth of those experiences with the same enthusiasm?

While we don’t like to think about the negative experiences in our lives, sometimes they are what God uses to bring out the best in us. Through Him we learn how to appreciate the purpose for the pain and realize our purpose in the pain. This is part of what it means in Romans 8:28 when it says God works all things out for His good and holy purpose.

The reason our ancestors risked life and limb time and time again to emancipate other enslaved people was not just because they themselves knew the pain of slavery. They were driven by a sense of purpose. Living by the light of our purpose enables us not only to endure the pain from hardship but to grow as a result of it. Hardship helps break up the ground of the heart so we can be exposed before God. At the point of Joseph’s deepest despair, he discovered purpose in his pain. While in prison, Joseph encountered and used his gift for the king’s chief butler, through whom he eventually was granted an audience with the king. Through the crushing of Joseph’s spirit, the gift God planted within was given room to flourish.

We all are born with purpose, though we may not be aware of it. Buried beneath the layers of our hurt from life experiences, we learn to ignore the gift God has put within. Just as it took prison to liberate Joseph toward his destiny, it sometimes takes being broken to be whole in our purpose. Let us come to accept our pain and to use it redemptively.

HOME DAILY DEVOTIONAL READINGS

SEPTEMBER 14–20, 2020

GENESIS 42:6–25

MAIN THOUGHT: And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required. (Genesis 42:22, KJV)

LESSON SETTING

Time: Unknown

Place: Egypt

LESSON OUTLINE

I. Joseph’s Revenge

(Genesis 42:6–17)

II. Joseph’s Mercy

(Genesis 42:18–25)

UNIFYING PRINCIPLE

Some people allow guilt from their past to poison their present. Is it ever possible to be free from condemnation for our past actions?

When Joseph saw and remembered his brothers who sold him into Egyptian slavery, he showed compassion while motivating them to recall and take responsibility for their earlier actions.

INTRODUCTION

Whether one calls it revenge, vengeance, or reprisal, all forms of retribution are someone’s idea of justice without mercy (which isn’t justice, by the way). In a hostile world, redress is a natural response of those who have been offended. According to popular society, it’s like a dish best served cold, referring to the so-called sweet benefits of payback. But the sweetness of revenge is bad for our health and fails to deliver the delight one would think it does. Retaliating against one who has wronged us always will result in unsatisfying outcomes. In fact, behavioral scientists have observed that instead of quenching hostility, revenge only prolongs the unpleasantness of the original offense. Merely bringing harm upon an offender is not enough to satisfy a person’s vengeful spirit. This is evidence that revenge was never meant for us to dispense but is an act that should be left for God to orchestrate.

Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, Never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord’ (Rom. 12:19, NRSV). Believers who have been offended need to let God exact vengeance on their behalf, for God is God over both the offended and the offender, and only He knows what justice demands.

From Joseph’s perspective, this was easier said than done. At the time of today’s lesson, the famine in the land had become so severe that Jacob, Joseph’s father, instructed all but one of his sons to go to Egypt to buy grain. This meant they would have to unknowingly face their brother and ultimately the shame they had been living with for thirteen years. The dream Joseph dreamed when he was seventeen was finally coming true—his family was coming to bow down to him.

From a position of power, Joseph had a choice to make. He could give into the seductive urge of revenge or choose to forgive. As for the brothers, they too had a choice to make—face their shame or continue to hide from it.

EXPOSITION

I. JOSEPH’S REVENGE

(GENESIS 42:6–17)

A few years into the famine, verse 6 opens with the indication Joseph’s position as governor had become the settled norm in Egypt. Second only to Pharaoh, his power was absolute. One of Joseph’s responsibilities was to oversee the allocation of food, especially during the predicted seven-year famine. He sold to all the people in the land who came seeking grain. This was what brought him into contact with his brothers. Being foreigners from Canaan, Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him. While it was an act that showed deference to the master of the land and was expected of the brothers, bowing down to Joseph said far more than they realized. As they bowed, Joseph remembered his dreams. After many years, they had come to pass. Joseph recognized his brothers but maintained his