Come, Follow Me · Week 12 · March 16–22

Genesis 42–50

This Week's Reading

This week’s reading in Genesis 42–50 recounts the dramatic reunion of Joseph with his brothers and the final blessings of Jacob over his sons. It teaches that God can use human mistakes, like selling a brother into slavery, to preserve life and fulfill His promises. The narrative highlights how God orchestrates events so that His purposes are accomplished even when people act out of fear or jealousy. Ultimately, these chapters point forward to Jesus Christ as the ultimate Savior who delivers us from sin and death.

Key Passages

Genesis 42:37–38 Reuben offers to sacrifice himself to save Benjamin, showing deep familial love that mirrors Christ's self-giving nature.
Genesis 43:20–21 The brothers return with their money, demonstrating honesty and a willingness to make restitution for past wrongs.
Genesis 44:18–27 Judah steps forward to plead for Benjamin, displaying the leadership and sacrifice required of true servants of God.
Genesis 45:1–10 Joseph reveals his identity and explains that God sent him to preserve life, turning tragedy into a great deliverance.
Genesis 49:1–10 Jacob blesses Judah as the line from which the Messiah will come, prophesying that the sceptre shall not depart until Shiloh arrives.

Questions to Ponder

How does Reuben’s willingness to sacrifice himself for his brother reflect the kind of love Jesus showed for us?
In what ways did the brothers change from selling Joseph into slavery to pleading for Benjamin’s safety?
Why is it significant that Joseph tells his brothers, "It was not you that sent me hither, but God"?
How does Jacob’s blessing of Judah help us understand Jesus Christ as our King and Savior?

A Thought to Take Home

God often allows difficult circumstances to shape our character and prepare us for greater purposes in His kingdom. Just as Joseph’s suffering led to the preservation of many lives, our trials can become opportunities for growth and service if we trust in the Lord. We are reminded that Jesus Christ is the Shiloh who brings salvation to all people, fulfilling the ancient promises made to Jacob.

Further study

Genesis 42:37–38 Genesis 43:20–21 Genesis 44:18–27 Genesis 45:1–10 Genesis 49:1–10

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This guide was prepared with AI from the scriptures and checked against the text; it can still make mistakes. For the Church's own guidance, read the official Come, Follow Me manual for this week. Nephite Atlas is not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Key passages

Genesis 42:37–38

³⁷And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again. ³⁸And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.

Genesis 43:20–21

²⁰And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food: ²¹And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand.

Genesis 44:18–27

¹⁸Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh. ¹⁹My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother? ²⁰And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him. ²¹And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him. ²²And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die. ²³And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more. ²⁴And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. ²⁵And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food. ²⁶And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us. ²⁷And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons:

Genesis 45:1–10

¹Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. ²And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard. ³And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. ⁴And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. ⁵Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. ⁶For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. ⁷And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. ⁸So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. ⁹Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not: ¹⁰And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:

Genesis 49:1–10

¹And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. ²Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father. ³Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: ⁴Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch. ⁵Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. ⁶O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. ⁷Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel. ⁸Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. ⁹Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? ¹⁰The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.