Read with Me
Genesis 44:1-5 (HCSB)
Then Joseph commanded his steward: “Fill the men’s bags with as much food as they can carry, and put each one’s money at the top of his bag. Put my cup, the silver one, at the top of the youngest one’s bag, along with his grain money.” So he did as Joseph told him.
At morning light, the men were sent off with their donkeys. They had not gone very far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, “Get up. Pursue the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? Isn’t this the cup that my master drinks from and uses for divination? What you have done is wrong!’ ”
Listen with Me
Joseph had carefully planned this final test for his brothers. They had already paid for the grain they were taking back home, and they also had given the steward the previously returned money as well. So, they all went to bed in peace, figuring that they had gotten past all the troubles. They would return home with food for their hungry families and, most importantly, with Benjamin.
But that night as their donkeys were loaded with the grain they had purchased, Joseph had his steward put each man’s silver in the mouth of one of his sacks. He also handed the steward the silver chalice that he used for divination, instructing him to bury it in the grain in one of the sacks on Benjamin’s donkey. Because of his conversation with his brothers, Joseph knew that Benjamin would serve as a linchpin for this final test.
The next morning, the brothers took their donkeys, anxious to start their journey home. But immediately after they left, Joseph called his steward over. He was to take armed guards and catch up with the brothers before they left the area. He was to accuse them of the theft of the silver cup, and then dig through the grain each brother was carrying in order of age from the oldest to the youngest, finally “discovering” the cup in Benjamin’s sack. Then he was to arrest them and bring them back to Joseph. Once they had come back, Joseph would conduct the final test. Only if they passed the test would he be willing to reveal himself to them.
Pray with Me
Father, even though this might seem like an underhanded thing to do, when they were younger, these men had been so horribly depraved that they had been willing to sell their own little brother into slavery. And it was essential that Joseph be able to see their true character before he could risk revealing his true identity to them. And the only way to truly see their character would be to put them under great stress and then see how they responded. It is when we are the most stressed that our true character shows itself. Thank you, Lord, that You don’t just test our motives, but that You also give us your Holy Spirit who can transform our hearts and change our motives at the source. Amen.