11 Now a famine and great trouble came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers found no sustenance. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. 13 And the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to the Pharaoh.
7:11
Now a famine and great trouble came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan,
While Joseph was in leadership in Egypt, a country-wide famine occurred in Egypt and other parts of the world (Ge 41:54-55; 42:5). The famine extended to Canaan, where Joseph’s family still lived.
and our fathers found no sustenance.
Joseph’s family suffered from the famine.
7:12
But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt,
Joseph’s father Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to purchase grain that Egypt stored in abundance (Ge 42:1-3). God prepared for the needs of His people by sovereignly directing Joseph to store abundant grain in Egypt.
he sent out our fathers first.
Jacob sent his sons (Joseph’s brothers) to obtain grain from Egypt. His sons did not discover on this trip that Joseph was the governor of Egypt.
7:13
And the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers,
On Joseph’s brothers’ second trip, they discovered Joseph was in leadership in Egypt (Ge 43:2-15; 45:1-4, 16).
and Joseph’s family became known to the Pharaoh.
Joseph introduced his brothers to Pharaoh.
PRINCIPLE:
The world does not, for the most part, recognize God’s hand in the world.
APPLICATION:
God sovereignly brought judgment upon the nation Israel. It was not an ultimate judgment, because God delivered them through Joseph (Acts 7:12-13). Joseph’s brothers did not recognize him until the second visit. The implication to the Sanhedrin was that they did not recognize God’s hand when He sent the Messiah to deliver them from their sins.
