The tension in the story builds to great proportions in this chapter. Jospeh sets the brothers up.
He orders the servants to fill the sacks of the brothers with grain and to return all of their money. He then tells them to hide his "silver cup" in the sack of the youngest, Benjamin (Gen 44:1-2). Soon after their departure, he sends a steward after the brothers and lodges the accusation that one of them has stolen the cup (Gen 44:4-5).
The brothers deny the crime and state that if the cup is found, the one who took it will die and the others will become Jospeph's slave. (This is not necessarily a statement of "righteousness," but is an emphatic, cultural way of saying "You're crazy!) The offer is countered and it is agreed that the one who possesses the cup will become Joseph's slave (Gen 44:9-10).
The cup is found with Benjamin and all of the brothers return to Joseph's house. Upon return, Judah presents all of the brothers as slaves, but Joseph tells them that he only wants Benjamin (Gen 44:14-16).
Judah then explains that to return to Jacob without Benjamin would result in Jacob's sorrow unto death (Gen 44:30-31). Judah begs to take Benjamin's place (Gen 44:34).
It seems that the goal of Joseph's deception is to determine if the brothers had come to value Benjamin's life. He wanted to know if they would simply sacrifice Benjamin for their own skin...or if they would deal with the situation in a way that would cost them personally. It is also possible that Joseph wanted them to grasp the pain involved in losing someone dear to them. He wanted them to grasp how costly it was for Jacob to lose Joseph in the first place. (Understanding the weight of sin guilt is a prerequisite to desiring and receiving forgiveness.)
(Granted...my observations here are somewhat speculative as I have tried to "get into" Joseph's head a bit. His motive doesn't seem to be revenge...so this solution seems plausible.)
All of this tension is resolved tomorrow...but don't read ahead.
Proverbs 4:26 is the takeaway today. The thrust of the verse is this. We do not have to establish our ways. It is not a task required of us to arrange for certain outcomes in life. The outcome of every situation is the Lord's to bring about. Our task is to "watch" where our feet go. This speaks of intentionality. It speaks of our intentional and diligent efforts to do daily what God has required, knowing that doing so will bring about the conclusion that God desires.
Chew on that for a second and then realize that this is groundbreaking for some. We don't have to discover the most strategic way to bring about a result. (This is not an indictment against planning). We are called to know and do the will of God in the daily decisions. If we do this...then God sets our course to glorify Him through bringing about the result...which we may be unable to see/grasp/ or embrace. So, what does God want you to do today? Know and do the will of God in everything.
Grace,
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
1 comment:
As I am reading and trying to put myself in Joseph's place. I wonder if any of this if really nessicary. Anything could have happened, of course everything was fine but what if something had happened along the way home to the boys. I wonder if Joseph recieved some gradification by bringing some pain to his brothers. They had put him through so much.
Post a Comment