Day 55 – Genesis 42:1-5
Why Do Ye Look One Upon Another?
Scripture Reading – Genesis 42:1-5
Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?
Genesis 42:1 KJV
And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.
Genesis 42:2 KJV
And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.
Genesis 42:3 KJV
But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.
Genesis 42:4 KJV
And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
Genesis 42:5 KJV
Scripture Review
The famine reaches Canaan, and Jacob learns there is corn in Egypt. He asks his sons why they are looking at one another instead of acting. Ten brothers go down to buy food, but Benjamin remains because Jacob fears mischief may befall him. The family is still living under the shadow of Joseph’s supposed death.
Need pushes the brothers toward the very person they removed. They travel for bread, not repentance, and they do not know that the road leads to both. God can use an ordinary necessity to bring a buried matter back into view. The famine is severe, but it is not meaningless. The brothers believe they are responding to empty cupboards. Providence is drawing them toward a face they have tried not to remember.
Jacob meant to preserve the household by purchasing food and to protect Benjamin from the kind of loss he believed had taken Joseph.
God meant to use the famine to bring the brothers before Joseph, where physical hunger would open the way for spiritual truth and family restoration.
What this asks of me
I should not despise the pressure that forces me to stop looking around and take a necessary step. God may use practical need to lead me toward an old sin, a needed conversation, or an answer I would not seek while comfortable. Delay at the table will not fill the sacks.
Consider
- What necessary step have I delayed while looking for someone else to move first?
- Could a present need be bringing me toward a matter God wants honestly addressed?