Read with Me
Genesis 44:14-17 (HCSB):
When Judah and his brothers reached Joseph’s house, he was still there. They fell to the ground before him. “What is this you have done?” Joseph said to them. “Didn’t you know that a man like me could uncover the truth by divination?”
“What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “How can we plead? How can we justify ourselves? God has exposed your servants’ iniquity. We are now my lord’s slaves—both we and the one in whose possession the cup was found.”
Then Joseph said, “I swear that I will not do this. The man in whose possession the cup was found will be my slave. The rest of you can go in peace to your father.”
Listen with Me
In this confrontation, Joseph was performing a final test of the character of his brothers. It had been twenty-two years since they had sold him into slavery, and he needed to know if they were still the hard-hearted, competitive men that they had been back then.
When the brothers were brought before Joseph they were broken. They had no idea how the cup had gotten in Benjamin’s sack – his astonished face when the cup was pulled out of it showed that he was as surprised as they were. But they knew that they had no defense against this conclusive “evidence” of theft. So, they all bowed miserably at Joseph’s feet.
Joseph’s declaration that a man like himself was able to discover things like the theft of his cup through divination seemed to seal their fate. This prompted Judah’s hopeless outburst on behalf of himself and the rest. His admission of iniquity was not an admission of the theft. At that point, they were all feeling the weight of their prior sin against Joseph (see Genesis 42:21-22). They had no idea of how the mechanics of the situation were working, but they were sure that every bad thing that was now happening to them was a direct punishment from God for that one overwhelming sin.
Judah had heard the steward declare that the one who had been found with the cup in his possession (Benjamin) would be his slave, and that the rest of them could go free (Genesis 44:10). But neither he nor the rest dared to return home without Benjamin. That would kill their father for sure! It was better to become slaves in Egypt, to simply accept God’s punishment for what it was. When they didn’t return at all, their father might still die of grief and their families of starvation, but at least they wouldn’t have to watch it happen.
But Joseph’s solution was the same as the steward’s. He would keep Benjamin as his slave, and the rest could return home with the grain. If they objected to this solution, they could talk more and explore what their current characters were like. But if they agreed to the deal, it would be proof that their hearts were still hard, and then it would be safer for Benjamin to stay with him. He could reveal himself to Benjamin alone after the other brothers had left.
Pray with Me
Father, again, this might seem like a devious plan to our minds, but it was vital for Joseph to know the kinds of men he was dealing with before he invited them all to come to Egypt. And we can see that this whole plan had ultimately come from You. You test us from time to time so that there is proof of what is in our hearts not only for You but for ourselves as well. Help me, Lord, to pass every test in Your strength. Amen.