December 1, 2020
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Reading along with us in Genesis? Here’s today’s reading:
Genesis 44 (NIV)
A Silver Cup in a Sack
1Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man’s silver in the mouth of his sack. 2Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver for his grain.” And he did as Joseph said........Continue Reading
Another test of the repentance of his brothers acted out by Joseph here. Judah’s plea for his brother and his worry for his father seemed very sincere.
God transforms hearts!
Genesis 44
Genesis 44
Genesis 44
seems like the past has come back to haunt him
Joseph continues to string his brothers along, I suspect to bring his father before him.
Judah offers to take Benjamin’s place.
Genesis 44
It seems that Joseph wants to assure the nature of the older brothers’ relationship with Benjamin to see if they regarded him in the same way they had regarded Joseph. Would they protect him or throw him to the wolves so to speak? That is why he puts the cup in Benjamin’s sack figuring it would play out the way it did: Benjamin being threatened and with it the opportunity to protect him. I also assume Joseph talks about using the cup for divination to increase it’s perceived value and reenforce his Egyptian-ness rather than Joseph abandoning his belief that God is the one who gives insight into things.
And Judah shows leadership in giving a stirring description of Jacob’s situation and his regard for Benjamin and a willingness to protect Jacob’s regard for Benjamin rather than punishing Benjamin for it like they did Joseph. It is so messed up though that the older brothers would bear the weight of Jacob’s flagrant favoritism. But in all, we can imagine that Joseph hears exactly what he wanted/was hoping for.
30“So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father, and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy’s life, 31sees that the boy isn’t there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow. 32Your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father. I said, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!’
33“Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. 34How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come on my father.”