Who does Judah represent?
(Genesis 41:38 – 45:28; Heb. 7:22) Blog Jun. 12-18, 2022
Prepared by Richard A. Marin: Present Truth PO Box 700, Fallbrook CA 92088-0700 USA
REVIEW: God’s perfect world was corrupted and condemned by sin. Things got so bad that 2000 years after creation, God destroyed the earth by a flood. When Noah’s descendants got worse God called Abraham to be his representative. The promises God made to Abraham were renewed to Isaac and Jacob. When Jacob’s special son Joseph was sold into Egypt both father and son experienced serious trials.
Land of Plenty
1. Why did Pharaoh choose Joseph to oversee the preparations for famine relief? Pharaoh chose Joseph to be in charge of famine relief because the Spirit of God was in him, making him discreet & wise (Gen. 41:38-39).
2. Besides putting Joseph in charge of grain storage what else did Pharaoh do for Joseph? Pharaoh made Joseph second ruler in the land, gave him his signet ring, clothed him in fine linen, put a gold chain on his neck, had him ride in the king’s second chariot, & gave him Asenath as wife (Gen. 41:40-45).
3. What name did Pharaoh call Joseph? Pharaoh call Joseph “Zaphnath-paaneah” which means “treasury of the glorious rest” which must indicate that Joseph was a faithful Sabbath keeper (Gen. 41:45).
4. How old was Joseph when he began working for Pharaoh? Joseph was 30 years old when he began working for Pharaoh (Gen. 41:46).
5. How did Joseph begin and execute his famine relief work? Joseph began by surveying the entire land of Egypt, then he gathered up & stored the surplus grain crops in storehouses throughout the land (Gen. 41:46-49).
6. Who were born to Joseph and Asenath during the years of plenty? Ephraim & Manasseh were born to Joseph & Asenath before the famine struck the land of Egypt (Gen. 41:50-52).
7. What, most likely, do we today call the storehouses that Joseph had built? We call them the pyramids of Egypt in whose temperature-controlled chambers have been found fertile grains of corn thousands of years later.
Land of Drought
8. When the famine began how was Joseph prepared for the crisis? When the people cried to Pharaoh for food, he told them to go to Joseph who had storehouses full of grain & they bought from him (Gen. 41:53-57).
9. As other countries with no storehouses began to suffer famine what did they do? They sent buyers to Egypt to buy corn. So it was that Joseph’s ten older brothers journeyed there for that purpose (Gen. 41:56-57;42:1-5).
10. How did Joseph receive his brothers? Joseph received his brothers roughly & accused them of being spies without revealing himself to them (Gen. 42:6-9).
11. What proposal did Joseph make so his brothers could prove that they were not spies? Joseph proposed that they all be put in prison except one who would return home & bring Benjamin back as proof that they were not spies (Gen. 42:10-16).
12. How did Joseph relax his demand that all his brothers but one stay in prison? Joseph kept Simeon in prison allowing the others to take food back to their families & bring Benjamin back (Gen. 42:17-24).
13. When the need required that Joseph’s brothers make a second trip to Egypt, who interposed? Reuben told his father that he would be responsible if anything happened to Benjamin but Jacob did not accept his offer. But when Judah proposed to be surety for the lad Jacob let Benjamin go (Gen. 42:37-38; 43:1-14).
14. In this story who does Judah represent? Judah represents Jesus who became surety for the human race & unlike Judah, was required to suffer, even hell itself, because he became surety for all of us (Psa. 119:121-122; Prov. 11:15; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 7:22).
Dreams Fulfilled
15. When Benjamin came with his bothers to Egypt which of Joseph’s childhood dreams was fulfilled? Joseph’s dream of the sheaves of wheat was fulfilled when his eleven brothers bowed to him (Gen. 43:26-28; 44:14).
16. When Joseph revealed himself to his brothers how did he assure them of his forgiveness for selling him as a slave? Joseph didn’t tell his brothers of his years of suffering in prison, but rather he told them that God used their cruel act to preserve their lives & that of the promised Seed (Gen. 45:5-8).
17. What command did Joseph and Pharaoh give to the eleven brothers? Joseph and Pharaoh commanded the eleven brothers to bring their father & come occupy the best land in Egypt. They even supplied them with wagons & bountiful provisions for the journey (Gen. 45:9-20).
18. What should we learn from the fact that a severe test and the appeal of a substitute preceded inhabiting the best of the land? Before we inhabit our promised land there will be a severe test & only the appeal of our Substitute & Surety will make that blessing possible (Zech. 3:1-5; 2 Cor. 5:10).