Family Reunion = Deception, Guilt, and Testing; Gen 42-44

May the mumbling commence!

In Genesis 42-44, there is a family reunion; and there is deception, guilt, and testing.  Jacob sends all of his sons but Benjamin, who is the only remaining son of Rachel to Egypt to buy grain.  When the ten men arrive in Egypt, they are brought before Joseph.  The time of testing that Joseph had must have aged him a little more than expected, and Joseph no longer wore the beard of a Hebrew – he was cleaned up to be palatable to Egyptians.  So, his brothers did not recognize him.

However, Joseph recognized them immediately.  Joseph chose not to reveal himself right away.  He asks his brothers, through an interpreter, “Where do you come from?”  When their answer reached his ears, he was reminded of his dreams about them.  Maybe, it was the dreams of the sheaves, and maybe that dream came to mind because they neglected to recognize his authority over the situation.  They did not refer to him as lord. 

So Joseph accuses them of deception and pumps them for information about their family back home.  When he finds out about their brother at home, he keeps back Simeon for insurance and tells them to return home with food to feed their families.  (And Joseph returned the money into their sacks.  The grace of Joseph cannot be bought.)  But, next time they return to buy grain, they must bring their younger brother with them. If they do not bring Benjamin, they will not see his face again, and they will be imprisoned for being spies.

Jacob, of course, does not want to be parted from his son, Benjamin.  Jacob does not want to risk losing him, too, with both Joseph and Simeon gone.  But they would be doomed to starve without more food.  So, Judah steps forward and guarantees the safe return of Benjamin.  Remember: Judah would be the tribe that Jesus would come from.  This will come into play a little later…

And the eleven brothers returned to Egypt.  Seeing Benjamin again, Joseph was greatly moved.  He needed time alone to gather himself.  And during that time alone, Joseph must have prepared a ploy to test his older brothers’ growth in dealing with a favored sibling.

When the brothers sat down to eat in Joseph’s house, Joseph had the servants serve five-times the amount of food to Benjamin.  As he sent them on their way with more food and all their money, Joseph deepened the deception and tested his brothers a final time.  He places a sliver cup into Benjamin’s sack and sends his servant to accuse them of this robbery.

When the servant catches up to the brothers, their reply to the accusation is reminiscent of the reply of Jacob to Laban about the household gods.  They vehemently denied wrong doing, and they said, “If the sack is found in any of our sacks, may that person be killed and the rest of us be kept as slaves.”  The drama increases as the servant searches the sacks from oldest to youngest.  As the servant approaches Benjamin’s sack, the brothers probably were poised to feel vindicated just as their father was so long ago…

But, when the sack was opened, the silver cup was found.  The servant demanded that Benjamin return as a slave, but the whole entourage returned.  They were all ready to be Joseph’s slaves.  Judah stood forward to be the spokesman.  He told Joseph basically, “Our father would die without Benjamin, so I guaranteed his safe return.  Let him go and keep me instead…”

The ancestor of Christ Jesus was willing to sacrifice his life and freedom for the sake of a young man, who apparently had sinned.  What a dim but undeniable foreshadowing of the sacrifice of Jesus! I give thanks for the willingness of Judah to sacrifice for a sinner, and I give thanks for Jesus’ willingness to give his life for mine.

May I also show my willingness to sacrifice for vulnerable people, when it is in my power to help them.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out