Read with Me
Genesis 43:15-25 (HCSB)
The men took this gift, double the amount of money, and Benjamin. They made their way down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his steward, “Take the men to my house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for they will eat with me at noon.” The man did as Joseph had said and brought them to Joseph’s house.
But the men were afraid because they were taken to Joseph’s house. They said, “We have been brought here because of the money that was returned in our bags the first time. They intend to overpower us, seize us, make us slaves, and take our donkeys.” So they approached Joseph’s steward and spoke to him at the doorway of the house.
They said, “Sir, we really did come down here the first time only to buy food. When we came to the place where we lodged for the night and opened our bags of grain, each one’s money was at the top of his bag! It was the full amount of our money, and we have brought it back with us. We have brought additional money with us to buy food. We don’t know who put our money in the bags.”
Then the steward said, “May you be well. Don’t be afraid. Your God and the God of your father must have put treasure in your bags. I received your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them. The steward brought the men into Joseph’s house, gave them water to wash their feet, and got feed for their donkeys. Since the men had heard that they were going to eat a meal there, they prepared their gift for Joseph’s arrival at noon.
Listen with Me
When Joseph’s brothers arrived back in Egypt, they were indeed granted an audience with Joseph since they had their youngest brother, Benjamin, with them. But they didn’t get a chance to present their petition for food and the restoration of their brother, Simeon. Joseph saw them, spoke to a servant nearby in Egyptian, and then dismissed them with the wave of his hand.
It wasn’t until the servant explained to them in Hebrew that they were to be taken to the overseer’s house that their uncertainty was replaced by panic. The only reason they could think of that they were being taken out of the public eye was so that they could be overpowered and enslaved without causing a scene. And of course, the reason that they assumed that that would happen was because someone had discovered that the silver they had previously paid was missing, and so were now convinced that they had stolen it.
So, they approached the Hebrew-speaking servant and explained to him that even though they had found their silver in their sacks on their journey home, they had brought it back with them, along with the additional silver that they needed to buy more grain. But to their utter astonishment, he told them that he had received their previous payment, opining that the silver they had found in their sacks must be a gift from their God.
The servant assured them that nothing nefarious was going on. They were being taken to the overseer’s house not to be enslaved, but to have lunch with him. So, they calmed down, although they were still deeply confused. After they were led into the hall of the overseer’s house, they laid out the gifts of honey, nuts, spices, and fragrant resins they had brought with them. Then they waited to see what would happen next.
Pray with Me
Father, even though Joseph’s brothers, like their father, knew that You existed and that You could make things happen, they still seemed to live as if You did not exist or as if You were uninvolved in the events of their lives. Thus, they were living as practical atheists, even though they were and are labeled as having a faith. So sad. But Lord, how many of Your people today do the same thing? How of us many claim your name as a label, but then live our lives as if there really is no God, or if You do exist, that You are too weak or too disinterested for us to rely on? Help me to never wear Your name as a mere label, but more as a testimony of who You are, and of what You have done, and are doing in my life. Amen.