Joseph Meets His Brothers - NIV

Joseph Did Not Plan to Meet up with His Brothers. He Had His Life in Egypt and God Had Definitely Been Leading. He was Useful and Had Purpose in Life. Going Back to Canaan Did Not Seem to Be One of His Goals. Maybe His Brothers Were Just the Same as When They Had Sold Him as a Slave to Passing Traders Who Sold Him in Egypt.

1. When Joseph's Brothers Went to Buy Grain They Had No Idea Who Would Sell it to Them.

Genesis 42:1 When Jacob ____________ that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, "Why do you just keep ____________ at each other?"

Genesis 42:3-4 Then ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. [4] But Jacob did not send ______________, Joseph's brother, with the others, ____________ he was afraid that harm might come to him.

Genesis 42:6-7 Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the one who sold grain to all its people. So when ______________ brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. [7] As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he __________________ them, but he ________________ to be a ______________ and spoke harshly to them. "Where do you come from?" he asked. "From the land of Canaan," they replied, "to buy food."

1. Why did Joseph speak harshly to his brothers? _____________________

2. Why did only ten brothers come to buy grain? _____________________

3. Did his brothers have any idea that he was their brother? ___________

2. Joseph Wanted to Learn More about Them Before They Knew Who He was.

Genesis 42:8-11 Although Joseph recognized his ______________, they did not recognize him. [9] Then he __________________ his dreams about them and said to them, "You are spies! You have come to see where our land is ___________________." [10] "No, my lord," they ______________. "Your servants have come to buy food. [11] We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies."

Genesis 42:12-17 "No!" he said to them. "You have come to see where our land is ___________________." [13] But they ____________, "Your ______________ were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more." [14] __________ said to them, "It is just as I told you: You are spies! [15] And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place __________ your youngest brother comes here. [16] Send one of your __________ to get your brother; the rest of you will be kept in __________, so that your words may be tested to see if you are ____________ the truth. If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!" [17] And he put them all in ____________ for three days.

Genesis 42:18-20 On the third day, Joseph said to them, "Do this and you will live, for I fear God: [19] If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving __________________. [20] But you must bring your ______________ brother to me, so that your words may be ______________ and that you may not die." This they ________________ to do.

Genesis 42:21-24 They said to one another, "Surely we are being ______________ because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that's why this distress has come upon us." [22] Reuben ____________, "Didn't I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn't listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood." [23] They did not ____________ that Joseph could __________________ them, since he was using an ___________________. [24] He turned away from them and began to weep, but then turned back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.

1. Did the brother's discover it was their brother Joseph asking them questions? ___________

2. Why did Joseph insist that they bring Benjamin down to Egypt? _______________

3. The Twelve Brothers Were Not Happy to Tell Their Father, Jacob, What Had Happened.

Genesis 42:25-28 Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to put each man's silver back in his sack, and to give them __________________ for their ____________. After this was done for them, [26] they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left. [27] At the place where they ____________ for the night one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of his sack. [28] "My silver has been re__________," he said to his ______________. "Here it is in my sack." Their hearts sank and they __________ to each other ________________ and said, "What is this that God has done to us?"

Genesis 42:29-34 When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had ______________ to them. They said, [30] "The man who is lord over the land spoke ____________ to us and ____________ us as __________ we were __________ on the land. [31] But we said to him, 'We are honest men; we are not spies. [32] We were __________ brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in Canaan.' [33] "Then the man who is lord over the land said to us, 'This is how I will know ____________ you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take food for your ______________ __________________ and go. [34] But bring your youngest brother to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the land.' "

Genesis 42:35-36 As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man's sack was his pouch of silver! When they and their father saw the money pouches, they were __________________. [36] Their father Jacob said to them, "You have deprived me of my ______________. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take ______________. __________________ is against me!"

Genesis 42:38 But Jacob said, "My son will not go down there with you; his ____________ is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the ____________ you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in __________."

1. How many sons did Jacob have? _________

2. How many sons were at home with him now? ___________

3. Who was now missing from the original number of sons? __________________ and __________________

4. Joseph Instructs His Steward to Take the Men to His House. They Do Not Know Why He Would Do This.

Genesis 43:1-5 Now the famine was still __________ in the land. [2] So when they had eaten all the grain they had ____________ from Egypt, their __________ said to them, "Go back and buy us a __________ more food." [3] But Judah said to him, "The man __________ us ______________, 'You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.' [4] If you will send our brother along with us, we will go down and buy food for you. [5] But if you will not send him, we will not go down, ____________ the man said to us, 'You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.' "

Genesis 43:6-10 Israel asked, "Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had another brother?" [7] They replied, "The man __________________ us closely about ourselves and our family. 'Is your father still living?' he asked us. 'Do you have another brother?' We simply ______________ his ________________. How were we to know he would say, 'Bring your brother down here'?" [8] Then Judah said to Israel his father, "Send the boy along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our ______________ may live and not die. [9] I myself will ________________ his safety; you can hold me __________________ ___________________ for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life. [10] As it is, if we had not ____________, we could have gone and ______________ twice."

Genesis 43:11-15 Then their father Israel said to them, "If it must be, then do this: Put some of the best ______________ of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift--a little balm and a little honey, some spices and myrrh, some ________________ nuts and almonds. [12] Take double the amount of silver with you, for you must return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks. ____________ it was a ____________. [13] Take your brother also and go back to the man at once. [14] And may God Almighty grant you mercy __________ the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved." [15] So the men took the gifts and double the amount of silver, and Benjamin also. They ____________ down to Egypt and ________________ __________________ to __________.

Genesis 43:16-17 When Joseph saw ______________ with them, he said to the steward of his house, "Take these men to my house, ________________ an animal and prepare dinner; they are to eat with me at noon." [17] The man did as Joseph told him and took the men to ______________ house.

5. Joseph's Brothers Tried to Explain to the Steward That They Had Found the Money in Their Sacks and Brought it Back with Them.

Genesis 43:18-22 Now the men were __________________ when they were taken to his house. They thought, "We were brought here ____________ of the silver that was put back into our sacks the first time. He wants to attack us and ________________ us and seize us as slaves and take our ____________." [19] So they went up to ______________ ____________ and spoke to him at the ______________ to the house. [20] "Please, sir," they said, "we came down here the first time to buy food. [21] But at the place where we ____________ for the night we opened our sacks and each of us found his silver--the exact weight--in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back with us. [22] We have also brought additional silver with us to buy food. We don't know who put our silver in our sacks."

Genesis 43:23-25 "It's all right," he said. "Don't be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you ______________ in your sacks; I ______________ your silver." Then he brought Simeon out to them. [24] The steward took the men into Joseph's house, gave them water to wash their feet and ______________ fodder for their donkeys. [25] They ______________ their gifts for Joseph's arrival at noon, because they had heard that they were to eat there.

Genesis 43:26-30 When Joseph came home, they ________________ to him the gifts they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground. [27] He asked them how they were, and then he said, "How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still living?" [28] They ____________, "Your ____________ our father is still alive and well." And they bowed low to pay him honor. [29] As he looked about and saw his brother ______________, his own ______________ son, he asked, "Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?" And he said, "God be ______________ to you, my son." [30] Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph ____________ out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his ____________ room and wept there.

Genesis 43:31-34 After he had washed his face, he came out and, ___________________ himself, said, "Serve the food." [32] They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, for that is __________________ to Egyptians. [33] The men had been seated before him in the order of their ages, from the ________________ to the ______________; and they looked at each other in astonishment. [34] When portions were served to them from ______________ table, __________________ portion was five times as much as anyone else's. So they feasted and drank freely with him.

1. Why did Joseph give Benjamin more food than he gave the other brothers? _____________________

2. Do the brothers know they are dealing with Joseph? _____________

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