Matthew Henry Commentary Genesis 43
Matthew Henry Commentary
Genesis 43
Matthew Henry Commentary
Genesis 43
"And the famine was sore in the land. And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food. And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food: but if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down; for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother? And they said, The man asked straitly concerning ourselves, and concerning our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye [another] brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we in any wise know that he would say, Bring your brother down? And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones. I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever: for except we had lingered, surely we had now returned a second time. And their father Israel said unto them, If it be so now, do this: take of the choice fruits of the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spicery and myrrh, nuts, and almonds; and take double money in your hand; and the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks carry again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight: take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man: and God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release unto you your other brother and Benjamin. And if I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved." — Genesis 43:1-14 (ASV)
Jacob urges his sons to go and buy a little food; now, in this time of scarcity, a little must be enough. Judah urges that Benjamin should go with them.
It is not against the honor and duty children owe their parents to humbly advise them and, when necessary, to reason with them. Jacob saw the necessity of the situation and yielded. His prudence and justice appeared in three things:
He sent back the money they had found in the sack. Honesty requires us to restore not only what comes to us through our own fault, but also what comes to us through the mistakes of others. Though we may obtain it by an oversight, if we keep it when the oversight is discovered, it is kept by deceit.
He sent double the amount of money they had taken previously; the price of grain might have risen, or they might have to pay a ransom for Simeon.
He sent a present of such things as the land provided and as were scarce in Egypt, such as balm, honey, and other similar items.
Providence does not dispense its gifts to everyone alike. However, honey and spices will never make up for the lack of essential grain. The famine was severe in Canaan, yet they had balm, myrrh, and other such things. We can live well enough on plain food without delicacies; but we cannot live on delicacies without plain food.
Let us thank God that what is most necessary and useful is generally most inexpensive and common. Although people highly value their gold and silver, and the luxuries considered the best products of every land, yet in a time of famine they willingly trade them for bread. And how little will earthly good things avail us on the day of wrath!
How ready we should be to renounce them all as loss, for the excellence of the knowledge of Jesus Christ! Our way to succeed with people is by first prevailing with the Lord in fervent prayer. But Thy will be done, should conclude every petition for the mercies of this life or against the afflictions of this life.
"And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, Bring the men into the house, and slay, and make ready; for the men shall dine with me at noon. And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men to Joseph`s house. And the men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph`s house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses. And they came near to the steward of Joseph`s house, and they spake unto him at the door of the house, and said, Oh, my lord, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food: and it came to pass, when we came to the lodging-place, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man`s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand. And other money have we brought down in our hand to buy food: we know not who put our money in our sacks. And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them. And the man brought the men into Joseph`s house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet. And he gave their asses provender. And they made ready the present against Joseph`s coming at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there." — Genesis 43:15-25 (ASV)
Jacob's sons went down the second time into Egypt to buy grain. If we should ever experience what a famine of the word means, we should not consider it too much to travel as far for spiritual food as they did for bodily food.
Joseph's steward had orders from his master to take them to his house. Even this frightened them. Those who are guilty make the worst of everything.
But the steward encouraged them. It appears, from what he said, that through his good master he had been brought to the knowledge of the true God, the God of the Hebrews. Religious servants should take all suitable occasions to speak of God and his providence with reverence and seriousness.
"And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed down themselves to him to the earth. And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive? And they said, Thy servant our father is well, he is yet alive. And they bowed the head, and made obeisance. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw Benjamin his brother, his mother`s son, and said, Is this your youngest brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son. And Joseph made haste; for his heart yearned over his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there. And he washed his face, and came out; and he refrained himself, and said, Set on bread. And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, that did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians. And they sat before him, the first-born according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one with another. And he took [and sent] messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin`s mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him." — Genesis 43:26-34 (ASV)
Observe the great respect Joseph's brothers paid to him. Thus, Joseph's dreams were more and more fulfilled. Joseph showed great kindness to them. He treated them nobly; but see here the early distance between Jews and Gentiles. In a day of famine, it is enough to be fed; but they were feasted.
Their cares and fears were now over, and they ate their bread with joy, thinking they were on good terms with the ruler of the land. If God accepts our works, our offering, we have reason to be cheerful. Joseph showed special regard for Benjamin, so that he might test whether his brothers would envy him.
It must be our rule to be content with what we have and not to grieve over what others have. Thus Jesus shows those whom He loves, more and more of their need. He makes them see that He is their only refuge from destruction.
He overcomes their unwillingness and brings them to Himself. Then, as He sees fit, He gives them some taste of His love and welcomes them to the provisions of His house, as an earnest of what He further intends for them.
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