57 TESTING THE BROTHERS
GENESIS 43:26 – 44:17
26 When Joseph came home, they presented to him the gifts they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground. 27 He asked them how they were, and then he said, “How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still living?” 28 They replied, “Your servant our father is still alive and well.” And they bowed down, prostrating themselves before him. 29 As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son, he asked, “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” 30 Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there. 31 After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself, said, “Serve the food.” 32 They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, for that is detestable to Egyptians. 33 The men had been seated before him in the order of their ages, from the firstborn to the youngest; and they looked at each other in astonishment. 34 When portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as anyone else’s. So they feasted and drank freely with him. 44 Now 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. 2 Then 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. 3 As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys. 4 They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, “Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil? 5 Isn’t this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.’” 6 When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them. 7 But they said to him, “Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like that! 8 We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found inside the mouths of our sacks. So why would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? 9 If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die; and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.” 10 “Very well, then,” he said, “let it be as you say. Whoever is found to have it will become my slave; the rest of you will be free from blame.” 11 Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. 12 Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13 At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city. 14 Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him. 15 Joseph said to them, “What is this you have done? Don’t you know that a man like me can find things out by divination?” 16 “What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves—we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup.” 17 But Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do such a thing! Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back to your father in peace.”
Joseph’s brothers show great respect to him. When they brought him the presents, “they bowed down before him to the ground” (26) and again, when they gave him an account of their father’s health, “’Your servant our father is still alive and well.’ And they bowed down, prostrating themselves before him” (28). They bowed again and referred to their father as Josephs’s servant. Do you remember Joseph’s second dream and Jacob’s response to it recorded in Genesis 37:10? “When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, ‘What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?’” Joseph’s dreams were being fulfilled more and more: and even the father, through the word used here by the sons, bowed before him, according to his second dream. The brothers would not have referred to Jacob as Joseph’s servant unless Jacob had told them to use that term. As though to say, ‘If you meet the lord of the land again refer to me as his servant. We must honor this man who holds our lives in his hands.”
The brothers did not know it was a brotherly kindness, but Joseph showed that to them. He asks about his father, “’How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still living?’ 28 They replied, ‘Your servant our father is still alive and well.’” His enquiry concerning Jacob is a very fit question to be asked concerning anyone, but especially concerning old people; for we are dying daily. It is a miracle of sorts that any of us are yet alive today. Have you ever had a near death experience? Many of us have. I could tell you of four times in my life that I could have and probably would have died if it had not been for the Lord preserving my life. You may have your own story. Jacob had said many years before, I will go to the grave to my son; but Jacob was wrong. Joseph was not dead and neither was Jacob these many years later. We must not die when we wish. God, the Author of life and Preserver from death, will make that choice.
Joseph shows a special interest in his brother Benjamin, his only full brother. He did one of the best things anyone can do for another, he offered up a quick prayer for him recorded in verse twenty-nine: “God be gracious to you, my son.” Joseph’s favor, though he was the lord of the land, would do him little permanent or eternal good, but if God were gracious to him, that would be something. Many seek the ruler’s favor, but Joseph directs him to seek the favor of the ruler of rulers. Joseph shows his tender spirit as he shed some tears for Benjamin as recorded in verse thirty: “Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there.” His natural affection for his brother, his joy and other emotions at seeing him, and the remembrance of his own griefs since he last saw him produced a deep emotional reaction in him even though the rest of them were mostly concerned just about buying corn. This may have been increased because he tried to suppress or hide it and was forced to hurry to his quarters to give himself a release of his emotions by tears. Speaking of tears, it seems wise for a Christian leader to neither try to hide them nor to make a big show of them. Let them be genuine, not acted. Tears of tenderness and affection are no weakness at all, even to great and wise men, but gracious weepers will not proclaim their tears. Jeremiah 13:17 says, “If you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly, overflowing with tears, because the Lord’s flock will be taken captive.” And when Peter realized he had denied his Lord he too wept, but in private, recorded in Matthew 26:75, “Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: ‘Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.” I have seen both men and women preachers weep and in my heart I felt they were manipulating their listeners. On the other hand, I have seen speakers genuinely moved by their feelings and God used it to soften their hearers’ hearts. Don’t be afraid to be emotional, but don’t manipulate people’s feelings with it. Be genuine. God will help you. You stand before your audience to minister to them, not to gain sympathy for yourself.
When Joseph’s emotions were under control again, he sat down to dinner with them, treated them nobly and arranged every thing to entertain them. He ordered three tables to be spread, one for his brothers, another for the Egyptians whose customs dictated that they did not eat together with Hebrews and another table for himself, who dared not admit he too was a Hebrew and yet preferred to not sit with the Egyptians; he was the master and they were servants. Though Joseph was the lord of the land, and orders were given that all people should obey him, yet he would not force the Egyptians to eat with the Hebrews, against their customs, but let them enjoy their own personal preferences. Generous persons truly don’t want to over-control, impose or manipulate. Even in Acts the early believing Jews ate separately from the believing Gentiles. It requires spiritual maturity to set aside customs for the sake of Christian unity, affection and spiritual fellowship centered on God and godly matters. When God is all in all in our perceptions, trivial earthly differences don’t matter very much.
Was Joseph playing a game of sorts when he seated his brothers according to their ages? Verse 33 says, “The men had been seated before him in the order of their ages, from the firstborn to the youngest; and they looked at each other in astonishment. If they had merely followed a Hebrew custom and did this on their own it would not have caused them to marvel at it. So we may assume it was done at Joseph’s instructions. Why did he pretend to be able to spiritually know this kind of information like he claims in the retrieval of the cup for their bags? The fact that they marveled at it must indicate that it was not their own doing. I suspect that Joseph was playing a kind of power/authority game. That’s just my own opinion.
He gave them a very plentiful entertainment and they seem to have had as much to eat as they wanted. This was the more generous in him because of the present scarcity of provisions. In a day of famine, it is enough to be fed; but here they feasted. Perhaps they had not had such a good dinner for many months. Verse 34 says, “So they feasted and drank freely with him.” Their cares and fears now seemed to be over, and they ate their bread with joy, concluding they were now on good terms with the man, the lord of the land. If God accept our works, our present or gift, we too have reason to be cheerful.
Joseph evidently intentionally let them understand that Benjamin was his favorite. How else can we explain that Benjamin received five times as much food as the others, not that he could or should eat that much because that would not be good for his health. Joseph might test whether his brethren would envy Benjamin his larger portions, as earlier they had envied himself his finer coat. Was Joseph testing his brothers to see if they still had any tenancies to be jealous of another brother? If so, we can see here a lesson not to compare what is given to us with what is given to another. Joseph had the authority to give as much or as little as he wanted to each brother and God has the same authority. Let us learn to be content with what God does with His supplies. It must be our rule, in similar situations, to be content with what we have, and not to grieve at what others have.
Joseph heaps further kindnesses on his brothers, fills their sacks, returns their money, and sends them away full of gladness; but he also confounds them with further trials. Our God seems to do this too. He humbles those whom He loves and loads with benefits. Joseph ordered his steward to put a fine silver cup, which he had possibly used at his table when they dined with him, in Benjamin’s sack. Then it might seem as if Benjamin had stolen it from the table and put it there himself after his corn was delivered to him. If Benjamin had stolen it, it would have been a lowly piece of dishonesty and ingratitude. If, on the other hand, Joseph, by ordering it to be there, had designed really to take serious advantage against Benjamin, it would have been a horrible cruelty. It proved, however, that there was no harm done, nor any designed, on either side. That is why I think Joseph was playing a power and authority game with his brothers, not intending to really do them harm, but perhaps to humble them.
The pretended criminals were pursued and arrested, on suspicion of having stolen a silver cup. The steward charged them with ingratitude—rewarding evil for good; and with folly in stealing a cup of daily use also used for divination and used in making decisions. When the cup was found at last in Benjamin’s sack notice how the brothers pleaded for themselves. They solemnly protested their innocence, and dislike for such a bad thing, argued it as a proof of their honesty that they had brought their money back and offered to submit themselves to the severest punishment if they would be found guilty. When the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack, they tore their clothes, returned to Joseph’s house and threw themselves on the ground before Joseph.
The theft was blamed on Benjamin. In the sack of Benjamin to whom Joseph had been extra kind the cup was found. Benjamin, no doubt, was ready to deny, on oath, the taking of the cup, and we may suppose him as little liable to suspicion as any of them; but it is in vain to confront such clearly condemning evidence; the cup is found in his sack. They dare not question Joseph’s justice, nor so much as suggest that perhaps he who had earlier put their money in their sacks had now put the cup there; but they throw themselves on Joseph’s mercy.
The brothers acknowledge the righteousness of God: “God has uncovered your servants’ guilt” (16) perhaps referring to the injury they had earlier done to Joseph for which they thought God was now reckoning with them. Even in those afflictions in which we understand ourselves wronged by men yet we must acknowledge that God is righteous.
Joseph, with an air of justice, gives sentence that Benjamin only should be kept in bondage, and the rest should be dismissed; for why should any suffer but the guilty? Joseph may have intended to try Benjamin’s temperament, whether he could bear such a hardship as this with the calmness and composure of mind that belonged to a wise and good man. Joseph himself had been falsely accused and suffered hard things as a result and yet had kept possession of his own soul. However, it is clear that Joseph rather intended to try the affection of his brothers to Benjamin and their father. If they had gone away contentedly and left Benjamin in bonds, Joseph could have soon released and promoted Benjamin and sent notice to Jacob. He could have left the rest of his brethren justly to suffer for their hard-heartedness, but they showed themselves to be more concerned about Benjamin than he expected. We cannot judge what men today are by only what they have been earlier, nor what they will do only by what they have done: age and experience may make men wiser and better. Those that had sold Joseph would now not abandon Benjamin. The worst may mend in time. Not always, but possibly.
A good leader will make room for people to change, to improve and give them opportunities. Paul did this for John Mark and the Holy Spirit can help you know when to and when not to apply this principle.
