Day 14: Revealed and Restored: God's Provision for His People

Welcome to The Glory Team Bible Reading plan. In Chapters 44-47 Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dreams and rises to power. He reunites with his brothers, showing God’s providence and forgiveness.

Genesis 44: Joseph, still disguised, orchestrates a final test of his brothers by secretly placing his silver cup in Benjamin's sack after a feast; when the brothers are stopped and the cup is discovered, they are devastated and return to Egypt, where Judah, the leader, pleads with Joseph to take him as a slave instead of Benjamin, revealing the depth of their father's love for the youngest brother and laying the groundwork for Joseph's eventual revelation of his identity. 

Genesis 45: Joseph finally reveals his identity to his brothers, who had sold him into slavery years earlier, and assures them he holds no grudge; instead, explaining that God orchestrated his situation to save their family from famine in Egypt. With Pharaoh's support, Joseph invites his father Jacob and the entire family to move to Egypt, where they will be provided for, leading to a joyous reunion after years of separation and the brothers' deep remorse. 

Genesis 46: Details Jacob's journey with his family to Egypt, where he is reunited with his long-lost son Joseph; the chapter begins with Jacob offering sacrifices in Beersheba, where God reassures him about the move to Egypt, then provides a detailed genealogy of Jacob's descendants, totaling seventy people, before culminating in an emotional meeting between Jacob and Joseph in Goshen, where Joseph prepares his family to meet Pharaoh; this chapter emphasizes God's faithfulness in guiding Jacob and his family to a new land while highlighting the significance of family lineage in the story of Israel. 

Genesis 47: Joseph presents his father Jacob and brothers to Pharaoh, securing for them a privileged settlement in the fertile land of Goshen, Egypt, due to Joseph's high position in the Egyptian court; as a severe famine grips the land, Joseph manages the food distribution, eventually requiring people to sell their possessions and even become servants to Pharaoh in exchange for grain, effectively making Egypt dependent on him; while the Israelites prosper in Goshen, Jacob blesses Pharaoh, signifying God's sovereignty even over the Egyptian ruler, and prepares for his eventual return to Canaan by asking Joseph to promise to bury him there upon his death. 

Revealed and Restored: God's Provision for His People

The purpose of the book of Genesis are to record God's creation of the world and His desire to have a people set apart to worship Him. The author of the Book of Genesis is Moses. There is plenty of evidence that leads to this conclusion:

• The Talmud (The Hebrew Bible, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law and Jewish theology.) attributes this book to Moses.

• Citations from Genesis show that the Old Testament is part of the Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 1:8; 2 Kings 13:23; 1 Chronicles 1:1)

• Jesus and the New Testament writers attribute Moses as the author of as an essential part of Scripture (Matthew 19:8; Luke 16:29; 24:27)

The original audience of the book of Genesis are the people of Israel and it was written in the wilderness during Israel's wanderings. The setting is primarily the region presently known as the Middle East.

The Key People we will learn about are Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Joseph.

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Reference Guides:

Life Application Study Guide

A Popular Survey of the Old Testament by Norman L. Geisler

The Power of God's Names by Tony Evans