Podcast: Play in new window | Download (3.7MB)
This week our parasha is parasha Miketz, meaning “At The End”, and covers Genesis 41:1-44:17. Miketz contains important lessons on how we can change as people and trusting in the Lord’s timing.
Our parasha begins two years later with Joseph still in jail. The cupbearer having forgotten all about Joseph. One night the Pharaoh has a very interesting dream. He dreams of standing by the Nile River when seven fat cows appear before him. Then after those seven cows another seven very ugly and gaunt cows appear. These gaunt cows eat the fat beautiful cows. The Pharaoh then has another dream where seven heads of grain are swallowed up by seven thin heads.
The next day Pharaoh asks for this dream to be interpreted but no one could. The cupbearer finally remembered Joseph and told Pharaoh how Joseph had interpreted his dream. Joseph is sent for and he tells Pharaoh the Lord will give him the meaning of the dreams.
The Lord then reveals to Joseph that the dreams foretell a coming famine. For the next seven years the land will yield an abundance of food, but then for the following seven years there will be widespread famine in Egypt and the surrounding areas. Joseph suggests that Pharaoh store away food during the years of plenty for the years of famine. Because Joseph showed such practical and spiritual wisdom, he was put in charge of preparing for the famine and was made second only to the Pharaoh throughout Egypt. Not bad for 30 years old.
In chapter 42, Joseph’s brothers, except for Benjamin, are sent to Egypt to buy food for their families as the promised famine had now arrived. Joseph recognized his brothers immediately but decides to test them. He treated them as spies and as they plead their innocence, they reveal the existence of Benjamin. Joseph commanded them to prove their honesty by bringing back their brother. He then demanded one of the brothers remain as a hostage to ensure they would return. The brothers discuss this tragedy among themselves and believe it is happening because of how they treated Joseph. God was now paying them back for their previous sins. Simeon volunteered to stay behind, and the remaining nine brothers promised to return. On the way home they realized the silver they had used to purchase the grain was back in their bags and they were confused and afraid. When they returned to Jacob, he mourned the loss of Simeon, believing him gone like Joseph, and refused to let Benjamin go to Egypt.
Chapter 43 continues with the famine still being severe and with the family about to starve again. Judah, showing real leadership, swore to his father that they would return with grain, Simeon, and Benjamin, if he would allow them all to go to Egypt. Seeing there was no other option Jacob reluctantly agreed and the brothers left for Egypt to purchase more grain.
When they finally reached the disguised Joseph again, they tried to return the silver, but he refused. The brothers then introduced Benjamin to the disguised Joseph. Seeing his brother for the first time in years Joseph was overcome with emotion and stepped away to cry in private. After composing himself, Joseph invited them all to a banquet which was very unusual since Egyptians did not eat with Hebrews. At the banquet Benjamin was given five times the amount of food as the others, but his brothers did not become jealous.
Chapter 44 records of Joseph’s final test for his brothers. He creates a test to see if his brothers will betray Benjamin as they betrayed him. Joseph’s servant hides a silver cup in Benjamin’s sack before the brothers leave with their grain. Claiming divination, Joseph tells the brothers that he knows one of them have stolen his cup. They protest their innocence, but the cup is found in Benjamin’s sack. Joseph declares that Benjamin will now become his slave and the other brothers can return to Canaan. The parasha ends on this cliffhanger. Will the brothers betray Benjamin like they did Joseph, or will they attempt to save their brother? Will Judah fulfill the promise he made to Jacob or will he break it? For the answers we will have to wait until next week’s parasha!
Parasha Miketz has several lessons for us to learn today. First, the Lord’s timing and plans are so much better than our own. Joseph spent over two years in prison most likely feeling forgotten by Adonai, but that was not the case. The Lord had Joseph in prison until just the proper time, when He used Joseph to save his family and all of Egypt. There was no way Joseph could anticipate what the Lord was about to do, but it was for everyone’s good.
We need to be careful not to interpret our lives based on a single moment or event. We should not presume to know the mind of God or His plans for our lives, but to patently wait on Him. We should also not assume when the Lord does move it will be slow. Joseph was moved from prison to second in command of all of Egypt within a single day! The Lord’s timing can sometimes seem slow from our perspective, but things can also move and change very quickly. We need to be willing to respond to both, the slow and the fast.
A final lesson from parasha Miketz is a reminder that people can change, especially from how they were when young. Joseph is no longer the boatsful golden child of his youth. The Joseph we encounter in this parasha is much humbler and more dependent on the Lord. This is also true for his siblings as well. They felt deeply guilty about what they did to Joseph and have changed. We see how they are kind and not jealous towards Benjamin in this parasha. While the event of selling Joseph has shaped all their lives, it did not set them in stone. It is reminder for us that we also can grow beyond the tragedies and traumas of our lives. I am reminded of the Apostle Peter’s words in 2 Peter 3:18: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Messiah Yeshua.” We need to be moving forward in our lives and growing in the Lord like Joseph before us. In the Lord’s timing that growth will sometimes be slow and other times quick as life changes.
As we close out this parasha, May the Lord enable each of to respond to His timing and not our own. May each of us change and grow through the power of His spirit given to us through the Son of God.