Bible Study Lessons about Joseph — Genesis 43:1-34
This lesson taken from the Book of Genesis addresses a few different situations. When Joseph’s brothers make the second journey to Egypt, Jacob gets an answer to his prayer.
One of the focus points from Joseph and his brothers is on the answer of a prayer made by Jacob, their father.
God answered him in His own way which led to a better life for all of them.
Let’s move on and get the complete story…
Joseph’s Brothers – Answered Prayers
Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and carry down to the man as a present, a little balm and a little honey, aromatic gum and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds.
Take double the money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was a mistake.
Take your brother also, and arise, return to the man; and may God Almighty grant you compassion in the sight of the man, so that he will release to you your other brother and Benjamin.
And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”
So the men took this present, and they took double the money in their hand, and Benjamin; then they arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph. – Genesis 43:11-15 NASB
Study of the Second Trip to Egypt – Joseph Meets His Brother Benjamin
The famine raged on as Jacob and his sons’ supplies of food were running low.
The sons knew that they could not return to Egypt without their brother Benjamin so had to convince their father to allow the youngest sibling to go back with them.
The Prayer of Israel
An intriguing part of this passage is in verse 1 and concerns the famine.
You see, Jacob ( Israel ) and his family had been praying consistently for God to release them from the grip of hunger that swept the land but to no avail.
Even though Jacob was a man of God his prayers went seemingly unanswered.
Are Our Prayers Heard?
Have you ever prayed for a solution to a bad situation in your life that seemed to go unheard and unanswered?
When this happens, after awhile we might feel that God is not listening. Or, maybe He has simply abandoned us. I believe most of us have been to that point in our lives at one time or another.
A “Just in Time” God
Remember, God works on His terms, in His will and not ours, so He may not be answering our prayer in the way we feel it should be handled.
Is God wrong? Not at all.
Praying for Snakes
In Matthew 7:10, Jesus explains prayer and states that if one of our children asks for a snake, would we give it to them?
Even though we are not always aware, we could be praying for snakes in our lives.
God may be refusing this certain prayer in order to lead us to a much greater solution – along with more treasure than we could ever imagine.
Prayer Works!
[easyazon_image align=”left” height=”160″ identifier=”0785289607″ locale=”US” src=”https://makingchristknown.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/514gEHKjnNL.SL160.jpg” tag=”bobpardphot-20″ width=”104″]Don’t give up on prayer. It absolutely works, but let God decide what He wants for the outcome.
His way is always better than ours when all is said and done.
Love in Christ
– Bob
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