THE BROKEN JOURNEY - SEEMING CATASTROPHE - THE FINAL TEST (GENESIS 44:1) Genesis 44:1 ‘And he commanded the steward of his house saying, “Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's silver in his sack's mouth, and put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the... [ Continue Reading ]
‘As soon as the morning was light the men were sent away, they and their asses.' With what joy the brothers went on their way. Simeon had been restored, their sacks were full and Benjamin was safe. All was well. And what a story they had to tell of their feasting in the house of the Egyptian Vizier... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when they had left the city and were as yet no great distance Joseph said to his steward, “Up, follow after the men, and when you overtake them say to them, “Why have you rewarded evil for good? Is not this cup the one in which my lord drinks, and by which indeed he divines? You have done evil... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they said to him, “Why does my lord speak such words as this? God forbid that your servants should do such a thing. Look, the silver which we found in the mouths of our sacks we brought again to you from the land of Canaan. How then would we steal out of your lord's house silver or gold? With w... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he said, “Let it now be as you have said. He with whom it is found shall be my bondman, and you shall be blameless.' “AS YOU HAVE SAID.” Not in the detail but in the fact of punishment. The servant lessens the sentence. Joseph does not want to drive his brothers too far. The guilty man will be... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then they acted hurriedly and every man took his sack to the ground, and every man opened his sack. And he searched and began at the eldest and finished at the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.' The search is described. They act with the speed of the innocent and each opens his s... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then they tore their clothes and every man loaded his ass and returned to the city.' The joy of freedom and success has gone. They accepted that the verdict of guilty was a foregone conclusion. ‘They tore their clothes', an accepted way of conveying despair and sorrow. And their minds were numb. T... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, and he was still there. And they fell on the ground before him. And Joseph said, “What is this deed that you have done? Do you not realise that such a man as I can indeed divine?” As in a nightmare the brothers return to the house where they had s... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What words can we use? Or how shall we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants. Behold, we are my lord's bondmen, both we and also he in whose sack the cup was found.” Judah speaks up for them all. On their behalf he accepts t... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he said, “God forbid that I should do so. The man in whose hand the cup was found, he shall be my bondman. But as for you, get up in peace to your father.” ' Joseph is thoroughly testing them out. What will they do about Benjamin? Will they sacrifice him like they sacrificed Joseph previously?... [ Continue Reading ]
‘The Judah came near to him and said, “Oh my lord, let your servant I pray you speak a word in my lord's ears. And do not let your anger burn against your servant for you are as Pharaoh.” Judah assures the great man that he recognises his greatness. Indeed he is depending on it. He is surely great... [ Continue Reading ]
“My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?' And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a younger one,' and his brother is dead, and he is all that is left of his mother, and his father loves him.” Judah is now determined that the Ma... [ Continue Reading ]
“And you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me that I may set eyes on him.' And we said to my lord, ‘The young man cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.' And you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother come down with you, you will see m... [ Continue Reading ]
“And it happened, when we came up to your servant my father we told him the words of my lord, and our father said, ‘Go again, buy us a little food.' And we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us then we will go down. For we cannot see the Man's face except our youngest brother... [ Continue Reading ]
“And your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons, and the one went out from me, and I said “Surely he is torn in pieces” and I have not seen him since. And if you take this one also from me and mischief befall him, you will bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to the g... [ Continue Reading ]
Now Judah comes to the nub of his argument. He has offered himself to his father as a guarantee that the young man will go back. If he goes back without Benjamin he will carry his own burden of guilt for ever, and be for ever guilty before his father. This he cannot bear. So he pleads that the Man w... [ Continue Reading ]