Genesis 41:46-5746And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. 47And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls. 48And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same. 49And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number. 50And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bare unto him. 51And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house. 52And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction. 53And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were ended. 54And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do. 56And the famine was over all the face of the earth: And Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. 57And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands. (Genesis 41:46‑57) and Genesis 42
There came seven good years in Egypt, just as the Lord had shown Joseph, when ever so much grain grew in the fields: the people had all they could use, yet each year there was ever so much left. Each harvest Joseph had all the grain not needed, stored in safe places in the towns; at first they kept count of the measures, but every year so much more was brought that at last they did not keep, count; we read it was “as the sand of the sea.”
Then seven years of famine came, just as the Lord had also shown Joseph, when the grain did not grow and people had not enough to make bread. They came to the king-for grain, and he told them, “Go to Joseph”, for he had charge of the great storehouses.
In other lands there was this bad time of drouth and famine also, and people came to Egypt to buy grain. One day ten men came from Canaan and stood before Joseph. At once he knew that they were his brothers; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. They bowed down to the ground before him, as was proper to such a high ruler, and Joseph remembered his dreams of their sheaves bowing to his sheaf. But he did not tell them who he was, nor let them know he understood their language but spoke by an interpreter. And they did not think of this great man being the boy they had sold for a slave over twenty years before. They asked to buy grain to take home to their families, and told of their aged father and of a younger brother.
Joseph said he would prove if they were speaking truly, or if they were spies who had come to see the land, and he had them all put in prison for three days. This seems a hard way to treat them, and Joseph really longed to treat them kindly, but he had wisdom to know they needed to think of their past wrong doings, which had been very wicked; and it did make them sorry, as you will see if you read verses 21 and 22 of Genesis 42nd, for they spoke of how they had not cared for Joseph’s cries at the pit.
Joseph overheard their talk, and turned away to weep. Then he had their sacks filled with grain; their money put back inside; and let them return home, all excepting Simeon, whom he kept bound, until they should come back with the youngest brother to prove their story was true.
ML 11/08/1936