January 16: Genesis 42:1 to Genesis 45:15

Joseph's Brothers Go to Egypt – Genesis 42

• During the famine, Jacob learns that Egypt has grain and sends ten of Joseph's brothers there to buy grain. He does not send Benjamin, Joseph's full brother, for fear of what would happen to him.
• In Egypt, Joseph is governor over the land, and he is the one who sells the grain. His brothers bow before him but don't recognize him (this is twenty years after Joseph was sold into slavery). He recognizes them, and harshly questions where they have come from. They tell him they are from Canaan and have come to buy food.
• Joseph remembers his dreams, and accuses them of being spies (he accuses them of something he knows they haven't done to see if they would betray each other under pressure). They deny it, and Joseph accuses them again. They deny it a second time, claiming they are ten brothers, their father and youngest brother is in Canaan, and another brother is "no more."
• Joseph tests them by telling them that one of them must return to Canaan and bring back the youngest brother. He then puts them in custody, and on the third day repeats what must be done. This time he says he will keep one brother while the others return to bring the youngest brother.
• The brothers agree, and believe that this distress has come upon them because of what they did to their brother Joseph. Reuben points out that he told them not to sin against Joseph. All this is said in front of Joseph, as there is an interpreter present and they are unaware that he can understand their language.
• Joseph turns away and weeps. Then he takes Simeon (since Reuben had tried to save Joseph, the next oldest son is chosen) and binds him before their eyes. He gives orders to fill the brothers' bags with grain, to replace every man's money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. They are then sent to Canaan.
• When one of the brothers opens his sack to give his donkey fodder, he finds the money in the sack. The brothers are afraid (they probably fear they will be charged with stealing), and accuse God for their problems, asking what He has done to them.
• In Canaan, they tell Jacob everything that has happened and how they must bring Benjamin to Egypt. When they empty their sacks, all find their money still there, which terrifies them. (While money in one's sack could be a mistake, money in each sack could not.)
• Jacob is angry and claims they have bereaved him of both Joseph and Simeon, and that they will not take Benjamin from him as well. Reuben tells Jacob that he can kill Reuben's two sons if they don't return with Benjamin.
• Jacob again refuses to send Benjamin with them.

Joseph's Brothers Return to Egypt – Genesis 43

• The famine is severe in the land, and when Jacob's family has eaten all the grain the sons had bought, Jacob again sends them to buy food. Judah tells him that they were warned not to return without Benjamin.
• Jacob asks why the brothers told the Egyptian why they had a younger brother, and they brothers reply that the man questioned them all about their father and whether they had another brother. They claim they couldn't have known that he would request they bring their youngest brother to him.
• Judah asks that Jacob allow Benjamin to go with him to Egypt so they won't all die of starvation. (Judah has changed tremendously; instead of leaving the family, he protected his brother and was concerned about his father's welfare.) He claims that if he doesn't return with Benjamin, Jacob can blame him forever.
• Jacob agrees, and has the brothers take gifts, double the money they will need, the money that was in their sacks when they returned, and Benjamin. 
• In Egypt, when Joseph sees Benjamin with the brothers, he has his servants prepare a meal for them. They fear that Joseph has brought them to his house to make them servants and steal their donkeys. They explain about the money in their sacks to the steward of Joseph's house, and he tells them not to be afraid, because their God put the money in their sacks. He then brings Simeon out to them.
• The steward brings them into the house, gives them water, washes their feet, and provides fodder for their donkeys. The brothers prepare the gifts they have brought for Joseph.
• When Joseph comes home, they present the gifts and bow down to him. Joseph questions if his father is well (they tell him he is) and he asks about Benjamin. Joseph then leaves the room to weep, and returns after he has washed his face.
• The  Hebrews and Egyptians are then served separately, as it was an abomination for Egyptians to eat with Hebrews. Portions are taken from Joseph's table for the brothers, but Benjamin is given five times as much.

Joseph Tests His Brothers – Genesis 44

• Joseph commands his house steward to fill the brothers' sacks with as much food as they could carry, put each man's money back in his sack, and put Joseph's silver cup in Benjamin's sack.
• The next morning, the brothers are sent home. When they are only a short distance away, Joseph sends his men after them to accuse them of stealing from Joseph.
• Joseph's men overtake them and do as they've been told, claiming that the one who has stolen the silver cup will die. Each brother is instructed to lower his sack to the ground so it can be searched. The search is conducted from oldest to youngest, and the cup is found in Benjamin's sack. The brothers tear their clothes, and all return to Joseph's house. (Ironically, years ago they tore Joseph's coat to pieces; now they are tearing their own clothing over the possible coming loss of another brother, Benjamin.)
• Joseph demands that Benjamin be his servant, and tells the others to return to their father in peace (he wants to see if they will leave Benjamin as a slave in Egypt just as they sold Joseph to be a slave).
• Judah explains that the loss of Benjamin would kill their father and offers himself as a slave in Benjamin's place.

Joseph Provides for His Brothers and Family – Genesis 45:1–15

• Joseph can no longer control his emotion and has everyone but his brothers removed from his presence. Joseph cries so loudly that all in the palace hear it, and he informs his brothers that he is Joseph and then asks if his father is still alive.
• The brothers do not believe him, and he calls them closer to him. He then points out that he is their brother who they sold into slavery and that they should not be upset because God sent him before them to save their lives. 
• Joseph explains that there will be five more years of famine, and he is in Egypt to provide for his family—so it was not them who sent him there, but God. He tells them to return to their father and tell Jacob that God has made Joseph lord of all Egypt and to come to Joseph so they can dwell in the land of Goshen, near Egypt. Joseph assures them that he will provide for them and again tells them to bring their father to him. 
• Joseph weeps with Benjamin and then with the other brothers. They then talk together.

January 15: Genesis 40:1–23; Genesis 35:28–29; Genesis 41:1–57

Joseph Interprets Two Prisoners' Dreams – Genesis 40

• The cupbearer and baker (two important officers in the royal court) commit an offense against Pharaoh, who has them placed in prison. The captain of the guard appoints Joseph to be with them.
• One night, the cupbearer and baker both dream, and when Joseph greets them in the morning, he sees that they are troubled. He asks why, and they tell him about the dreams. 
• Joseph asks that they explain the dreams, and he interprets them both. He tells the cupbearer that in three days he will be returned to his position, and tells the chief baker that in three days he will be hanged. Both come to pass, but the cupbearer does not remember Joseph to Pharaoh as Joseph had asked him to.

The Death of Isaac – Genesis 35:28–29

• Isaac dies as the age of 180 years, and Jacob and Esau bury him.

Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's Dreams – Genesis 41

• Two years later, Pharaoh dreams that he is standing by the Nile River, and out of it comes seven well-fed cows that feed in the reed grass. Soon after, seven thin cows come out of the Nile and eat the healthy cows. Pharaoh then awakens.
• Pharaoh dreams again when he falls asleep, and seven healthy ears of grain are growing on a stalk. After them sprout seven blighted ears. The thin ears then swallow up the healthy ears, and Pharaoh awakens.
• In the morning, Pharaoh sends for all of Egypt's magicians and wise men. He tells them his dreams, but none are able to interpret them. 
• The chief cupbearer tells Pharaoh about the Hebrew who was a servant of the captain of the guard, and how he interpreted his dream, and Pharaoh sends for Joseph.
• Pharaoh tells Joseph about his dreams, and Joseph tells him that God has revealed to Pharaoh what He's about to do—that there will be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine.
• Pharaoh appoints overseers over the land, and tells them to store up grain during the next seven years of plenty so there will be grain when the famine comes.

Joseph Rises to Power

• Pharaoh is pleased with Joseph and determines that there is no other who is as discerning and wise as Joseph. He puts Joseph in charge of his household, making him second-in-command only to Pharaoh. He gives Joseph his signet ring and fine clothing and puts a gold chain around his neck. The Egyptians are instructed to bow to Joseph, and Pharaoh gives him Asenath, a daughter of a priest, for a wife.
• Joseph is thirty years old when he begins his service to Pharaoh. He goes throughout Egypt, ensuring that grain is gathered and stored in all the cities. The grain is plentiful beyond measure.
• Two sons are born to Joseph and Asenath: Manassah and Ephraim.
• The seven years of plenty end, and seven years of famine begin. Joseph opens the storehouses of grain, and the famine is so severe that people from all over come to Egypt in search of grain.

January 4: Genesis 11:1 – Genesis 14:24 & 1 Chronicles 1:24–27

The Tower of Babel – Genesis 11

• The whole earth has one language. The people journey east and find a plain in the land of Shinar (ancient Babylon, in Mesopotamia), where they settle. 
• Using baked bricks and mortar, the people set out to build a city, and a tower that reaches into the heavens. (They want to become as famous as the Nephilim were before the Great Flood, and make a name for themselves.)
• God "came down to see" (omniscience) what they were doing, and sees their potential to become as willfully sinful as people were before the Flood. He will not allow this to happen.
• God confuses their language, scattering them abroad. (This is the beginning of variation in language, culture, values, and clans—caused by human arrogance.) The scattering is God's third great judgment on the people (the first being the expulsion from Eden and the second being the Great Flood). 
• The tower is called Babel. In Hebrew, the word for confuse (in verb form) sounds similar to the name of the city.

Shem's Descendants – Genesis 11:10–26 & 1 Chronicles 1:24–27

• The genealogy of Shem, the progenitor of the Hebrew people, is given, from Shem to Terah, who was the father of Abram (later Abraham), Nahor, and Haran.

Terah's Descendants

• Terah's son Haran dies, leaving a son named Lot. Abram and Nahor take wives (Sarai and Milcah, respectively). Sarai is barren.
• Terah takes Abram, Lot, and Sarai, and they leave Ur of the Chaldeans and go to Canaan, to a place called Haran, where Terah dies.

Promises to Abram – Genesis 12

• God tells Abram to take his family to the land God will show him, and that He will make Abram a great nation.
• Abram obeys, leaving Haran with Sarai, Lot, and the people they had acquired in Haran, and traveled to Shechem, also in Canaan. There, God tells Abram that He will give this land (which belongs to the Canaanites) to Abram's descendants, and Abram builds an altar to the Lord.
• Abram then moves to the mountains east of Bethel and pitches his tent between Bethel and Ai, where he builds another altar and calls on the name of the Lord.
• Abram then journeys again, heading south.

Abram in Egypt

• There was a famine in the land, so Abram takes his family south to Egypt. 
• As the family is entering Egypt, Abram tells Sarai to tell anyone who asks, that she is his sister. He fears that because she is beautiful, if she tells people that she is his wife, the people will try to kill him. (Sarai is actually Abram's half-sister, as they shared the same father.)
• In Egypt, Sarai is taken by the Pharaoh's princes into the house of Pharaoh, where she becomes a wife of Pharaoh, and Pharaoh treats Abram well for Sarai's sake (he is given servants and livestock).
• God plagues Pharaoh and his household because of Sarai (the first example of the cursing and blessing element of God's promise, found in verses 2 and 3 of the chapter).
• Angry, Pharaoh sends Abram and Sarai away with all they own.

Abram Inherits Canaan – Genesis 13

• Abram and his family return to the place where he pitched his tent between Bethel and Ai. There, he calls upon the name of the Lord again.
• Lot also goes with them, and the land is not able to house all of them, as their possessions are so great that they can't live together. There is strife between the herdsmen of the Lot and the herdsmen of Abram, so the two men decide to separate so there will be no more problems between them. Lot chooses the land of Jordan, to the east (his choice of the more favorable land leads him into territory populated by the worst of the Canaanites—the men of Sodom), while Abram chooses the land of Canaan.
• Lot pitches his tent as far as Sodom, where the men are "exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord." (Gen. 13:13)
• The Lord tells Abram to look all around him, and that all the land Abram can see will be given to him and his descendants forever. (This is God's reaffirmation of His promise to Abram after Abram's lack of faith in Egypt and his separation from Lot.) He also tells Abram He will make his descendants as the dust of the earth (innumerable), and tells Abram to move about through his land (a symbolic act of taking possession).
• Abram moves his tent, dwelling by the terebinth trees of Mamre (in Hebron), where he builds another altar to the Lord.

Lot's Captivity and Rescue – Genesis 14

• War breaks out in Jordan, where Lot is living. Lot and his family, along with the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, are captured. An escapee flees to Abram and tells him what has happened.
• Abram arms his three hundred eighteen trained servants, and together they attack the city of Sodom in the night. Abram brings back all the goods, as well as Lot and his family and all their belongings.
• The king of Sodom meets Abram in the Valley of Shaveh after Abram's return from victory. 

Abram and Melchizedek

• Melchizedek, king of Salem (later Jerusalem) meets with Abram. (Melchizedek is a priest of the Most High God and worshiped the living God.) He then blesses Abram.
• The king of Sodom tells Abram to give him his people but to keep the goods. Abram refuses, saying he will not take anything that belongs to the king (this is his rebuke of Sodom and its king, which is in contrast to Lot, who moved into the wicked city), lest the king say that he made Abram rich.