Suddenly, beyond Jacob's control, he was struck with famine, for "the famine was in the land of Canaan" (42:5). God used this famine to deal with Jacob and to lift up Joseph. We have seen that in the twenty years between the loss of Joseph and the coming of this famine, Jacob had nothing to do. He probably felt that his life was over and that he was waiting to go to his people, that is, to die. He never thought that he would go to Egypt to have another new beginning. Of course, he never considered that Joseph would be there waiting for him. Jacob might have thought, "What new thing can happen to me? I am old, I have had four wives, and I have many children and grandchildren. My life is over." But as he was thinking this, God's hand suddenly came upon him, and Jacob was stricken by famine. What an exercise this severe famine must have been to Jacob's entire being! Before the famine struck, he was at peace; he was not short of anything. But suddenly there was no food. As the head of such a large family, he was certainly exercised about what to do in the midst of this famine. God used it to press Jacob.
God also used this famine to uplift Joseph. To Joseph, the famine was a great thing. If there had been no famine after the seven plenteous years, Pharaoh would have said to Joseph, "Joseph, you have fooled me in interpreting my dream. After the seven years of plenty, the famine has not come." But the famine did come, and it was Joseph's power and authority. The seven years of plenty were a partial fulfillment of Pharaoh's dream, but Joseph's interpretation of that dream had not been completely confirmed. Pharaoh was probably waiting to see what would happen after the seven years of plenty. If the famine had not come, he might have executed Joseph. Thus, Joseph needed the seven years of famine in order to be uplifted. This famine was Joseph's glory. God used it to crown him. Joseph's reign was a type of the millennium, of God's heavenly reign over the earth.
Because of the famine, Jacob was forced to send his ten sons to Egypt to buy grain (42:1-3). He had lost Joseph, and now he had to send away ten of his remaining eleven sons. In ancient times it was a long journey from Hebron to Egypt; it took about eight to ten days to travel this distance. After the ten sons had left for Egypt, only the youngest, Benjamin, who was in his early twenties, remained with Jacob. The ten sons must have been away from Jacob for nearly a month. This period of time was a great exercise to this old man. He might have thought, "Now my ten sons are gone. I wonder what will happen to them. Will they return safely? Will they be able to buy food and bring it home with them?" What an exercise this was to Jacob! This dealing was not for Jacob's transformation; it was for his maturity. God used it to fill Jacob with the very element of the divine life.