We are continuing in our study of the book of Genesis where we are examining the life of Joseph. We have been following Joseph’s historical journeys from the land of Canaan into Egypt, his fall into prison and slavery, and the exaltation of Joseph as he is lifted up out of prison.
We have seen that God has hidden the Gospel in these Old Testament passages. As we studied Pharaoh’s dreams, we saw that the seven years of plenty typified the New Testament Era, the New Testament Church Age. We understood that the seven years of famine immediately following the seven years of plenty were a picture of the Great Tribulation. We also saw that even Pharaoh’s awakening at the end of his dreams was a picture of God awakening to judgment, as Pharaoh is a picture of God Himself. As we have studied these dreams, we found that every aspect of them had spiritual meaning. For example, as Pharaoh lifted Joseph up out of prison, we were able to understand that that was a picture of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As we have continued on in these chapters, we have seen that God had a lot to say about the seven years of famine. We saw that He only gave about six verses to the seven years of plenty, but He recorded about six chapters concerning the seven years of famine. He is so concerned about this little period of time that typifies the Great Tribulation that He gives us a great amount of information concerning it.
We have been following along and seeing how everything relates to our present day. In our last study, we left off in Genesis 43. Once again, let us examine verses 29-31:
And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son. And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there. And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread.
We saw that Joseph is a picture of Christ, and Benjamin is a type of the true believers, the elect of God. Benjamin’s name means “Son of My Right Hand,” and we know that the Lord Jesus Christ is at the right hand of the Father (Ephesians 1:20).
We know that this passage is representing the first part of the Great Tribulation when the Lord Jesus Christ is viewing His people, the elect, who are in the churches and congregations, and His bowels are yearning, just as Joseph’s bowels yearned upon his brother Benjamin.
We know that the Hebrew word “bowels” is often translated as “mercies.” This same word is found in 1 Kings 3:26 in the account of the two women who were harlots who each had a baby. We read that one of the babies died. Its mother took the baby of her other friend, of the other harlot, and claimed it as her own. They were both brought before king Solomon for him to decide who the living baby belonged to. In 1 Kings 3:25-26, we read:
And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other. Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.
This mother’s bowels yearned for her baby. Any mother of a young child can especially identify with this mother. If you and your child were brought before a king and the king’s solution to the problem was to take your living child and to divide it in two, you, as the real mother, would not be able to accept this. You would resign yourself to the fact that it would be better for your baby to be with an evil woman, with a wicked woman, because, at least, then the baby would be allowed to live. Only a mother could really know the full meaning of this, looking at her young baby as it was about to be killed.
Going back to this account in 1 Kings, we see that in her compassion and in her mercy for her child, the true mother wanted the baby to live. It states, “her bowels yearned.”
That was Joseph’s exact reaction to his brother, Benjamin. His bowels yearned upon his brother. He was yearning for his brother; he had deep compassion for him. He wanted to bless his brother. Joseph was experiencing all of the riches of Egypt—treasures and power and authority—while his brother was experiencing a famine. Neither Benjamin nor any member of his family had enough to eat.
Joseph saw his brother before him, and he wanted to rush to him and throw his arms around him and kiss him on the neck to show his love for him. But what did he do instead? He refrained himself. He first went off alone because he could not hold back his emotions. He could not hold back the tears or his feelings towards his brother.
If you have ever been away from a close brother for a long period of time (maybe you went away into the service) and then you came back, you would really desire to give him a nice, strong hug. We can imagine that Joseph’s feelings would be even greater than that, because Joseph had not seen his brother, Benjamin, for, at least, twenty years. Therefore, Joseph found a chamber in his house, and he went and wept there.
When Joseph came back, he refrained himself. He did not show mercy. In other words, he did not express what his bowels were feeling or let on that he was yearning for his brother. He was still putting forth this picture of a stern Egyptian lord, of someone who was far removed from how these individuals were feeling. He was still pretending; he was still acting as though he did not even know these men, as though they were strangers. That is because God was doing the same thing to the believers during the first part of the Great Tribulation. God was restraining Himself.
We have to ask the question, “Just what was Joseph restraining?” As we think about this, we know that Benjamin was there and that his brethren were there—so, what was Joseph restraining?
He was restraining the truth. The truth was that he was Joseph. The truth was that they were his brethren. The truth was that God had worked a mighty miracle in Joseph’s life. But Joseph held all of this back, just as during the first part of the Great Tribulation, God restrained the truth from His children.
During the first part of the Great Tribulation, God sealed up His Word. He hid the Words from His children, the true believers, so that they would not understand. God was holding back Truth. Even though He saw His elect suffering and experiencing the famine that had come upon the world in the time of Great Tribulation, God still waited until the proper time before revealing Himself. This is the same exact thing that we see Joseph doing.
We read that the brethren, including Benjamin, would dine with Joseph at noon. This was going to be a very special luncheon that required very special preparation. Joseph arranged the seating order so that the eldest down to youngest would be seated in order of their birth, Benjamin being the youngest. We read that these men marveled that they had been seated in this manner.
We also saw that the amount of “mess” that Benjamin was given was five times greater than the amount of food that his brothers received. The word “mess” is an interesting word because it is translated as “flaming fire” in other places in the Bible. The meaning of this word is of something that rises up, like a flaming fire—it rises to the sky. Benjamin’s mess, his plate, was rising up; it was a big mound of food that Joseph had dished out and put on Benjamin’s plate for him to eat.
All the other brothers also had a plate of food, but their portions were more average than Benjamin’s. They were all looking down at Benjamin and seeing this giant mountain of food on his plate. They must have wondered why this was so. We have to ask ourselves why would Joseph do this? The answer could simply be because he loved Benjamin. Benjamin was his brother, not a half brother as the others, but a full brother.
There also might be another reason for Joseph favoring Benjamin as he did. What were these brothers guilty of when Joseph was still living among them? Their father showed favoritism to Joseph. Jacob had given Joseph a coat of many colors. It was very obvious that Jacob favored Joseph above the rest of his brethren. Now we see that Joseph is favoring Benjamin. Joseph is, most likely, looking at the reaction of these sons of Israel, and he is trying to see, “Are they still full of envy and jealousy? Will they react in the same way that they did when my father, Jacob, favored me?”
We do not, however, read of the brethren having this kind of reaction. They were aware of Benjamin’s treatment, and they marveled at their seating arrangements. Yet, there is nothing that indicates that they were showing envy, as they did when they were younger.
If we are looking for any kind of spiritual meaning, we know this is indicating that the Lord Jesus Christ will feed His people. He will feed His people in the time of famine. Benjamin, especially, is a picture of the elect of God. We know that the number five points to the grace of God. Since Benjamin’s mess was five times greater than theirs, we can see that this is a picture of God showing His grace upon Benjamin, upon the elect.
They have their meal, and then we go on to read in Genesis 44:1-6:
And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth. And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses. And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good? Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing. And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words.
Now it is the next day. They stayed the night and left early in the morning as soon as the light rose. They had no intention of remaining in Egypt. They were coming from Canaan to get corn, because they had heard that there was corn in Egypt. They were going to get as much corn as they could, and then they were going to go back to Canaan.
They got their corn, and the money was again returned into their sack, just as it happened before. They left the city and were not very far away when the steward, following Joseph’s orders, overtook them and conducted a search. This was the same steward who had placed the silver cup in the sack of the youngest, as he was told to do. He conducts the search, just as Joseph had told him to, even though he knew that he was the one who had placed the cup in the youngest’s sack.
The steward started searching at the oldest’s. He checks every one of their sacks, searching Benjamin’s last. The silver cup will, of course, be found there. When the cup is found, the brethren are beside themselves, and they rend their clothes.
Let us continue in verses 7-15:
And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing: Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold? With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen. And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless. Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack. And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city. And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground. And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?
By the way, concerning this historical record, Joseph had told the steward to put the silver cup in the sack of the youngest brother and, after finding it in Benjamin’s sack, to say (verse 5):
Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth…
Joseph is saying the same thing in verse 15. There, we read:
…wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?
This is a very startling statement coming from Joseph. We know what God says about divination in the Bible, and it is not good. In Deuteronomy 18, we read in verses 10-12:
There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
We have always heard that Joseph was an extremely upright man. He was one of the few men of the Bible of whom we do not read of committing any sins. Yet, Joseph said to his brethren, “Wot (know) ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?” Was Joseph guilty of breaking this commandment, where God prohibits divination and any kind of sorcery or witchcraft or supernatural activity beyond the revelation of God?
No, Joseph was not guilty of this sin. Remember that Joseph was hiding himself from his brethren. Joseph was showing himself to be a cruel Egyptian lord. He was presenting himself to his brethren as someone who lived in a Godless country and who worshipped false gods, and, because of that, he spoke of divination.
We remember that back in Genesis 40:8, Joseph interpreted the dreams of two men who were in prison with him. He had told them, “Do not interpretations belong to God?” At that time, did Joseph try to make himself out to be someone who could weave a little magic and be able to interpret dreams? No—immediately, upon learning of the men’s dreams, he told them, “I will not be able to interpret your dreams; God is the interpreter of dreams.”
Likewise, when he was called out of prison before Pharaoh to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, we read in Genesis 41:16:
And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
If he was ever going to put on airs and make himself out to be some sort of a wise man with magical powers, this would have been the time to do it. He could have pretended, right before Pharaoh, that he was someone who divined, but he did not. Instead, he said, “It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”
Because Joseph had always let it be known that the interpretations of dreams came from God, we know that he did not use this silver cup to divine in. However, as he is standing before his brethren and speaking roughly to them and making himself strange unto them, he is pretending to be a cruel Egyptian lord. Since the Egyptians used silver cups to divine in, Joseph put forward this same type of image. He was still maintaining this character before them when he stated, “Wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?” Joseph, himself, would have never been involved in divination because God forbids and prohibits it in His Word.
It goes on to say in Genesis 44:16-17:
And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord's servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found. And he said, God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.
This is what happened on that day long ago in Egypt. The brethren of Joseph went out of the city—they left Egypt and headed back to Canaan. The steward of Joseph went after them (after planting the cup in Benjamin’s sack). The steward conducted a search, found the cup on Benjamin, and brought them back into Egypt. Here they are—they keep trying to go to Canaan, but God keeps bringing them back to Egypt. Again and again, they are trying to go back to Canaan. They have no intention of staying in Egypt, but God keeps bringing them back.
Historically, we know that Joseph has been working behind the scenes. He has been arranging circumstances and orchestrating events to keep bringing them back because Joseph wants Benjamin to stay in Egypt. That is why he says, “The rest of you can go, but the one in whom the cup is found, he will be my servant.”
There was a problem that developed, however, because Judah had promised to be surety for Benjamin. So Judah stood up and said, “No, I will remain the servant. Let this young one go, or else my father will die. My father’s life is wrapped up in the life of this young lad, and if he does not return, my father will go down to the grave in sorrow.”
This ruins the whole thing from Joseph’s perspective (though in actuality, it did not). According to Joseph’s plan, he only wanted Benjamin to stay. We will see what happens with this later in the next chapter.
For now, let us look at the spiritual meaning of this passage. We understand the historical account, but what is the spiritual meaning? The steward is told to place the cup in Benjamin’s bag—what does this cup represent? Why is the cup found on Benjamin? And why does this indicate that he would be Joseph’s servant? In Genesis 44:1, it says:
And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth.
Again, they came with their money and they left with their money. They freely received. We have examined the Biblical doctrine in Isaiah 55:1 where God explains that he sells the Gospel “without money and without price.” This is how God would have all of His people to bring the Gospel. We are not to try to make any money off of the Gospel—we have freely received the Gospel, so we freely give the Gospel (Matthew 10:8).
Then in verse 2, we read:
And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.
It is interesting to note that we do not read that the steward said anything except the words that Joseph had told him to speak. We read in verse 6:
And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words.
The steward speaks the same words that Joseph had given him to speak. He speaks the words of Joseph, he does the will of Joseph, and we do not read of him doing anything beyond that. He is the one who places the silver cup in Benjamin’s sack, and he is the one who discovers the cup in Benjamin’s sack. As we go along in this study, we will soon discover what the cup represents, and we will see who the steward is a picture of.
Concerning the silver cup, the word “cup” is translated as “bowl” (as in the bowls that are a part of the candlestick in the sanctuary) in several places. In one place, Jeremiah 35, it is translated as “pots.” There, the Rechabites were told to drink wine. “Pots” of wine were set before them—this is the same word that is translated as “cup” in this passage.
This does not really help us much in understanding this. But when we look at this from a spiritual perspective, knowing that the cup belongs to Joseph who is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, then we have to ask ourselves, “Is there a cup that is related to the Lord Jesus Christ?” The answer is, yes. If we turn to Matthew 20:22-23, we see (in response to Zebedee’s children asking to sit one on the right hand and one on the left in Christ’s Kingdom):
But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.
Here is the cup of the Lord Jesus Christ. He tells James and John that they will indeed drink of the cup that He drinks of. This is true of all believers. As these verses point out, we will all drink of the cup that the Lord Jesus Christ drank of—we will be baptized with the baptism that He is baptized with.
That cup was the cup of God’s wrath that Christ had to drink to the full. That baptism was the baptism of the fire of Hell that the Lord Jesus Christ went through to have our sins cleansed and purged. Since we all are in Christ, we are baptized with His baptism; we drink of the cup that He drank of. This is what indicates that we are children of God. Everyone who is a child of God will drink of the cup that Christ drank of.
Now, historically, there was a silver cup, and the steward placed that cup in Benjamin’s sack. Genesis 44:5 says:
Is not this it in which my lord drinketh…
This is the cup that Joseph drank from, and it has been placed in Benjamin’s sack. This is a picture of Benjamin wanting to drink from this cup. It is a picture of Benjamin drinking from the cup that this Egyptian lord drank from. This is indicating that Benjamin typifies the elect. Benjamin is a type of all those whom God saves; it is upon them that the cup will be found.
Does anyone spiritually have the Lord’s cup on them? Yes; if we are saved, then, in a sense, we have drunk of the cup that Christ drank of. It is as if God, the Holy Spirit, conducted a search and checked everyone to see whether or not they have the cup., “Does this one have the cup? Does that one have the cup?” Some reading this study have the cup, and some do not.
The steward is a picture of the Holy Spirit. The steward typifies the one who obeys the commands of the Lord Jesus Christ; he was the one that was sent forth. The steward places the cup on Benjamin, just like the Holy Spirit, spiritually, places the cup of salvation on anyone that becomes saved. The Holy Spirit indwells us; the confirmation of this is what happens if the cup is found.
We read in verse 10:
And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless.
Whoever has the cup will be Joseph’s servant—that is also what Joseph says in verse 17, where we read:
And he said, God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.
He does not have any dealings with the others because the cup is found on Benjamin. Benjamin is the one whom Joseph is trying again and again to get into Egypt. He represents the elect of God. The elect serve God, and Benjamin will be Joseph’s servant.
Going back to Matthew 20, we read in verses 23-27:
And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
We can see that the same emphasis is found here, with this discussion of the cup of the Lord Jesus Christ and the drinking of that cup. Then, in the same context, Christ goes on to say that the one who will be greatest will be servant of all. That is what happened in Genesis 44, as the one in whom the cup was found would become Joseph’s servant.
After this, we know that Judah interrupted the whole process of Joseph’s plan—we will take a look at that next time, Lord willing. One last thing we will look at here is how God is working again and again to bring them back to Egypt. They keep trying to leave and go back to Canaan. They have come for corn twice, and Joseph, pulling the strings behind the scenes, is orchestrating things to keep bringing them back. The drawing hand of God will not let them go.
The significant thing is what this spiritually represents. Canaan is typifying the church, and Egypt is a picture of the world during the time of the Great Tribulation. These brethren are the believers who have come out of the church to hear the Gospel. They are finding corn in Egypt. They have heard news that the Gospel is being put forth from a source other than the church, and they are hearing that Word, yet they keep trying to go back to Canaan.
It is just as the believers behaved during the first part of the Great Tribulation. We heard the Gospel from a source outside of the church, which was a faithful source; and we kept going back to our churches.
Yet God is arranging things to get them to leave Canaan. This is a picture of the time when the believers must leave the church during the dividing point of the Great Tribulation.
Next time, Lord willing, we are going to pick up in verse 18 and see how Judah interceded and became surety for Benjamin.