The Story Of Joseph Part 27--Israel Officially Settles In Goshen

 Genesis 47: 1-12

Joseph had sent the wagons to carry his father and all his household to Egypt from Canaan, so he could take care of them, and make sure they didn't starve. 

He had the authority, as the king's vizier, to determine where to let them live, and gave directions to Judah to lead them into the Goshen area of the land of Egypt.

(1) Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said, "My father and my brothers and their flocks and their herds and all that they have, have come out of the land of Canaan; and behold, they are in the land of Goshen." 

Now Joseph is making everything legal and official, and informs the king that his family has arrived. 

(2) He took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. (3) Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" So they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers." (4) They said to Pharaoh, "We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now, therefore, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen." 

Then Joseph chooses five of his brothers to introduce them to the king, and they did what Joseph had told them to do, answering politely with their occupation as shepherds.

(5) Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you. (6) The land of Egypt is at your disposal; settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land, let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know any capable men among them, then put them in charge of my livestock." 

Now Pharaoh is officially welcoming Joseph's family, and granting them as much property as they need in the very best district of his nation. Joseph is already the lord over the whole country, so he is granted to settle them in the most prosperous and lush part of the whole land. It's now legal and in the records. 

And Pharaoh even tells Joseph to hire his family members who have the skills to manage Pharaoh's own herds and flocks. This is continuing God's blessing on Joseph that everything he does succeeds.

(7) Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 

Now Joseph introduces Pharaoh to his father Jacob, and Israel gives a blessing over the king. It is always the greater who blesses the lessor, and Jacob is obviously the elder of the two. And also, God has given Abraham His blessing with which to bless his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob, so Israel has God's blessing to bless Pharaoh. Through this blessing, the whole world will ultimately be blessed (Genesis 18: 18).

(8) Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many years have you lived?" 

Pharaoh is impressed with his extreme age, and asks him how old he is.

(9) So Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning." 

This sounds like he is not considering this long length of life to be anything to boast about, claiming that he's not famous for anything, and has not even attained what his ancestors have. Is this humility?

(10) And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from his presence. 

We are told again that Jacob blessed Pharaoh, so he left him with a blessing, and probably never did come into his official presence again.

(11) So Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had ordered. 

Now everything is signed, sealed and delivered, to make their home in this beautiful, lush and safe land; the best of the whole nation, and the best in the whole world that God determined for them to have at this time. Now they will be able to grow in God's spiritual greenhouse, to multiply in numbers and maintain their faith to worship God.

(12) Joseph provided his father and his brothers and all his father's household with food, according to their little ones.

Joseph was in charge of all the resources in the land, so he was able to provide for his extended family with all the grain and foods they would need, according to the size of each family; so everyone received enough; they all could prosper here. 

There were still more years of famine ahead, but the children of Israel would not have to spend their resources to buy food, Joseph provided for them from the king.

Tomorrow we will see how Joseph dealt with the rest of the citizens of Egypt. 

O my Father, You have told us this story so that we could see how you take care of all the details for us. The children of Israel were special in Egypt because they were Joseph's family, and Pharaoh appreciated and loved him. As long as this king's line were ruling in Egypt, the Hebrews were respected and honored. 

Father, this was the greenhouse You prepared for Your chosen ones. You have moved Heaven and Earth to provide the safe, nurturing environment they needed to grow strong both physically and spiritually. And You gave them all the time they needed to do this in this protected space. 

My Father, You always provide everything we need, whether it is physical, material, financial; or mental, psychological, emotional; or moral, ethical, and spiritual. You give us every advantage and opportunity to be healthy and do the right thing, every time. Please teach Your children that You have already given us everything we need to make the righteous and prosperous decisions, every time. 

O Father, grow Your children, and grow Your family, as You grew Israel in Goshen. Help us to seek Your face and to follow Your ways in all that we do in every area of life, whether at church or at home or at work or at leisure; when arising and retiring, going out and coming in. Send us out into the whole world, to tell every living person how much You love us all. Bring all of Your babies to the birth, and grow us all to maturity, to attain the full stature of the Son of God. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over the World and all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus! 

The Story Of Joseph Part 26--Going To Goshen

 Genesis 46: 28-34

Jacob/Israel is bringing his whole clan from Canaan to Egypt, sight unseen.

(28) Now he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out the way before him to Goshen. 

So, he sends Judah ahead to find Joseph, to get directions to the district they're to settle in. This means that Judah, not Joseph, will be leading the whole clan into the district that they will be living in.

(29) Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; as soon as he appeared before him, he fell on his neck and wept on his neck a long time. 

I wonder if Joseph decorated his chariot for this momentous moment. It is a very emotional meeting; Joseph has not seen his father since he was seventeen, and now they're finally reuniting! No wonder he wept on his neck a long time! 

(30) Then Israel said to Joseph, "Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive." 

This doesn't mean that Israel wants to die right away, it only means that he has completed the most important item on his "bucket list" so he's not waiting for anything else. And now that he's moved, he's starting a whole new life chapter!

(31) Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, "I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and will say to him, 'My brothers and my father's household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me; (32) and the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock; and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.'  

Joseph tells his brothers that he will prepare for their meeting with the king so that everything will go well.

(33) "When Pharaoh calls you and says, 'What is your occupation?' (34) you shall say, 'Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,' that you may live in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is loathsome to the Egyptians." 

Goshen is the best area in all of Egypt, with the most fertile soil and the most lush grazing for their sheep and cattle. In telling the people that they are shepherds, the other Egyptians who already live in Goshen will probably move out, so they will have the whole lush area all to themselves. 

God's Greenhouse for growing His chosen people. 

O my Father, You are so precise about Your plans for us. You knew that Jacob's family were very fragile and vulnerable while they were still few in number. So You brought them into Goshen so they could safely and healthily grow into the nation of Israel You intended. 

My Father, You also have the same preciseness in Your plan for me, too. Please help me not to waste any of this time I am waiting on You, and to take the steps You set my feet upon to follow You. 

O Father, use me, use all of Your children, to share with everyone in the world in all the ways You enable each of us to communicate. Let every living person hear how much You love us all, and want us all in Your own family. Cause every spiritual embryo to come to the birth, and grow Your children to maturity, to reach the full stature of the Son of God. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, the Lord God Almighty, King of the World and all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus! 

 

 

 

 

The Story Of Joseph Part 25--Jacob Moves To Egypt

 Genesis 46: 5-27

When Jacob set out with his clan, he came as far as Beersheba and offered sacrifices there; and that night God encouraged him in a dream not to be afraid to go, because He would grow his family into a great nation in Egypt. 

Jacob is finally putting into practice his growing awareness that he really is a Prince with God (Israel)!

(5) Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob and their little ones and their wives in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry them. 

Pharaoh was very considerate to send wagons in which to carry Joseph's aged father and all the wives and little children all the way from Canaan to Egypt.

(6) They took their livestock and their property, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and came to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him: (7) his sons and his grandsons with him, his daughters and his granddaughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt. 

Jacob gathered and packed up everything they had, all their belongings, their animals, and every member of his extended family: his sons and daughters, his grandchildren, and even some great-grandchildren that had been born. The whole clan just uprooted and began the journey to Egypt. 

(8) Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, Jacob and his sons who went to Egypt: ...

Verses 8-27 list all twelve of Jacob's sons, his daughter Dinah, and all of their children and grandchildren. 

(27) ... All the persons of the house of Jacob, who came to Egypt, were seventy. 

If you wish, you can read this list, but I don't think it necessary to duplicate it here. The only comment I would like to make here, is that they were already beginning to intermarry with the Canaanites, as Simeon had a son, Shaul, by a Canaanite woman (46: 11). So, I don't wonder why God wanted them in the Goshen neighborhood, the hot-house of Egypt. 

There they will not have the temptation to be seduced by the idolatrous peoples who lived in Canaan. They will not be as tempted by the Egyptians, who didn't practice human sacrifice. 

And they have grown numerous enough to dilute the DNA enough to not have intermarriage between too close relations. Every generation experiences microscopic breaks in the DNA and the RNA, and the human race was damaged when Adam disobeyed, but the damage was not very extensive until many, many generations had been born. 

Abraham and Sarah were half-brother-and-sister (the same father but different mothers; Genesis 20: 12), and Isaac and Rebecca were first cousins once removed (Isaac's father Abraham was brother to Nahor, Rebecca's grandfather; Genesis 24: 15), which was still acceptable, so early in the genetic history of our race. 

But by the time this family had become a nation, 400 years later, it was time for the Law God gave Moses to forbid marriages between close family members such as these. 

That is also why there are laws today that forbid marriages between relatives, because intermarriage with close relatives multiplies the damage in our DNA and RNA and produces children who have anomalies and rare diseases and conditions. 

God is not as concerned with the genetic dangers, though, as much as He is to the moral and spiritual dangers that were extant in Canaan, even back then. 

God wants us to be like Him, so that we can have good, happy and prosperous lives here on Earth, and then to live with Him as His own family forever. He made the human race to be His children, but He wants us to want to love Him back. He does not want puppets, He wants sons and daughters. 

O my Father, You always know what is best for us, in every situation at every time. You know how weak we are, and You will protect us from what we would not be able to resist. So You moved this group of chosen people out of the strong temptations that would have assailed them into the warm cocoon of Goshen. 

O Father, send out Your children into all the world to share with everyone how much You love us all, and will protect us from danger that can destroy us. You are not willing for any of us to perish or be destroyed, because You sent Your Son to save us from all that. Please use us to bring all of Your babies to the birth into Your family, and to grow up and mature into the full stature of the Son of God as His body. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus! 

The Story Of Joseph Part 24--Jacob's Promise From God

Genesis 46: 1-4

Jacob trusted the Lord God with his children when he let his sons take Benjamin with them to Egypt, and God rewarded this step of faith by encouraging him in the knowledge of Joseph's being alive, and his ascendancy to being the Egyptian king's vizier, to be lord over the whole nation of Egypt. 

So now Jacob, being more the Israel (Prince with God) than ever, he is acting on this new information, trusting that it is true. 

(1) So Israel set out with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 

Israel is offering worship to God, to thank Him for the good that He is doing for him in his old age, to be able to see his favorite son again, and to remove all the doubt and despair he had been feeling. Then he camps there for the night.

(2) God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, "Jacob, Jacob." And he said, "Here I am."  

And now Jacob is having a dream.

(3) He said, "I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. 

God tells him that He is taking him out of Canaan, out from all the seductive cultures that surrounded his family there. Egypt will be the hot-house where God will grow Israel's family into a whole nation.

(4) "I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will close your eyes." 

God promises that He will be with Israel while they are in Egypt, that Jacob will live the rest of his life there, and that Joseph, his favorite son, will be with him when he dies. He will have a peaceful going into the next plane of existence, Sheol, the place of the dead. And his body will be carried back to Canaan for burial, because Canaan is the land that God will give to the nation that he will engender. So his body will be laid to rest in their own land, not Egypt. 

Egypt will only be temporary, and God will grow and strengthen this fledgling nation to be strong and capable to take possession of their land. 

Israel entered Egypt a family; in time they will leave as a nation. 

O my Father, Your plan was to take Abraham, whose great faith in You when he was the about only one who knew You then, to make his line into a whole nation, through his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob. Now at this point in the plan, You are taking Jacob and all of his whole family into Egypt, out of all the attractions of the Canaanites around them, to grow them into the great nation Israel in the sanctuary of Goshen, the most prosperous neighborhood in Egypt. 

And Father, You are also working out Your plan for me, even the little I will be able to do for Your Kingdom, You are working out in my life. Father, keep me in Your arms, close to Your heart, that my heart will beat in sync with Yours, and I will accomplish Your will as Your hands and feet. 

O Father, send out all of Your children into all the world to tell every living person of Your love for all of us, and how they can be born into Your family, also. Let every person in every nation hear and understand. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus! 

The Story Of Joseph Part 23--Jacob Becomes Israel

 Genesis 45: 16-28

Joseph was finally satisfied that his brothers had grown enough to accept their father's love for Benjamin, and to realize that Jacob did love all of his sons, but in different ways. As all parents do. 

Then when he finally came to the point of honestly revealing to them who he really was, the release of all the pent-up passion that Joseph had for his brothers came out in such a flood of emotion, that the whole neighborhood around Joseph's house could hear it. 

And now that Joseph has revealed himself, his personal servants didn't have to keep it a secret any more, and could tell Pharaoh's servants, too, who informed the king.

(16) When the news was heard in Pharaoh's house that Joseph's brothers had come, it pleased Pharaoh and his servants.  

Since Joseph is so much loved and highly regarded by Pharaoh and his servants, they were glad for him to have his brothers come.

(17) Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Say to your brothers, 'Do this: load your beasts and go to the land of Canaan, (18) and take your father and your households and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you will eat the fat of the land.' 

Now Pharaoh himself is telling Joseph to do what Joseph wanted to do with his family, to bring them all to Egypt, so they would no longer be estranged from him.

(19) "Now you are ordered, 'Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father and come. (20) Do not concern yourselves with your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.'" 

So the Pharaoh is doing his thing and giving orders, telling his servants to provide these things; and telling Joseph to tell his brothers that he'll give them everything they need, so pack light. 

(21) Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them wagons according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. (22) To each of them he gave changes of garments, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of garments. (23) To his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and sustenance for his father on the journey. (24) So he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, "Do not quarrel on the journey." 

So Joseph gave them all the proof they will need to convince their father, and, knowing his brothers, cautioned them to not quarrel on the journey! He knew that their mothers quarreled and the boys learned that from them.

(25) Then they went up from Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. (26) They told him, saying, "Joseph is still alive, and indeed he is ruler over all the land of Egypt." But he was stunned, for he did not believe them. 

This is quite a development after decades believing Joseph is dead, no wonder he's incredulous. This is why Joseph sent so much with them. To convince him that not only is he alive, but he is the lord of Egypt they've been dealing with.

(27) When they told him all the words of Joseph that he had spoken to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 

Jacob is experiencing all the depression and doubt of decades falling away! He finally has hope again, and grows tremendously in his faith and trust in the God he's been holding on to all his life.

(28) Then Israel said, "It is enough; my son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die." 

Jacob is now more Israel as he trusts God more, and decides to take action on this new information he believes is true.  

God told Jacob, the Deceiver, that he was a Prince with God, when he was on his way back from Padan-Aram to Canaan with eleven of his twelve sons, when they were still small (Genesis 32: 28). And he has been struggling for so many years to accept that concept. 

Now he is finally realizing the full impact of how God has seen him already, and is now taking action to move on this increased faith.

So it looks like they will be moving from Canaan to Egypt.

O my Father, You will move Heaven and Earth to grow Your children. You took all the time that Jacob needed, even to sustaining his life and health into extreme old age. Nothing is impossible with You. 

My Father, I know Your love for me is just as real and practical as Your love for Jacob/Israel. You know each of us individually, and You love us each as You made us. You know that we all need to grow up in our faith, and You give each of us all the time we need to grow. So, Father, help me not to waste any of the time You are giving to me, so that I will grow into the mature Woman of God You made me to be, and grant me to have a godly influence on my children and grandchildren, as my flesh has gotten in my way so often. 

O Father, grow all Your children up in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, until we all together reach the full stature of the Body of Christ, as His body parts. Complete Your heavenly Temple of which we are the living stones. 

Send out all Your children, Father, to reach every living person in the world; that they may all understand how You love us all, and have already sent Your Son to be our Savior, meeting all of our most fundamental needs, and all the peripheral needs, too. You have given us abundant life, to enjoy both here and forever. Please bring all Your babies to the birth into Your family, and grow us all up to be Your sons and daughters, to inherit all the glory and blessings of Your abundance. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus! 

 

 

 

 

The Story Of Joseph Part 22--Joseph Reveals His Identity

 Genesis 45: 1-15

The sons of Israel have come from Canaan to Egypt for the second time to buy food. The famine is still ongoing, and Joseph is done testing his brothers. He has learned that they have treated his little brother differently than they treated him, and are feeling guilty for what they did to him. And he is so joyful to have his family back, that he can hardly contain himself. 

Now here's the big moment.

(1) Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried, "Have everyone go out from me." So there was no man with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 

JOSEPH MADE HIMSELF KNOWN TO HIS BROTHERS! Now we will see how he did it.

(2) He wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard of it. 

Joseph must have really been screaming-crying in finally releasing his pent-up passion for his family.

(3) Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. 

Then he just comes out with it, to the shock and surprise of his brothers, who realize that this brother they were so mean to now has the power over them to destroy them!

(4) Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come closer to me." And they came closer. And he said, "I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. (5) Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. (6) For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. (7) God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the Earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. (8) Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 

Joseph gives his brothers his own viewpoint on what has happened and why; that God was the one who sent him to Egypt, not his brothers, so that he could save a lot of people from starving to death. So he doesn't want them to blame themselves. God is the one who made Joseph the ruler in Egypt by giving him grace in Pharaoh's eyes, so that he would be able to do this.

(9) "Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, "God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. 

Now he tells them to go get their father Jacob, and bring him down to Egypt, too.

(10) "'You shall live in the land of Goshen, and  you shall be near me, you and your herds and all that you have. 

Goshen is the best neighborhood in all of Egypt, the high-dollar district, as far from the slums as you could get. There they will be near Joseph, and the family can be together again.

(11) "'There I will also provide for you, for there are still five years of famine to come, and you and your household and all that you have would be impoverished."' 

Joseph says that he will be able to take care of them, as they could otherwise starve to death in Canaan because the famine will last another five years.

(12) "Behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth which is speaking to you. 

He tells them to believe their own eyes, that it really is him, their long-lost brother Joseph, telling them these things.

(13) "Now you must tell my father of all my splendor in Egypt, and all that you have seen; and you must hurry and bring my father down here." 

Then he tells them to hurry back to get their father, and explain to him that Joseph has all the wealth and authority to take care of them.

(14) Then he fell on his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. (15) He kissed all his brothers and wept on them, and afterward his brothers talked with him. 

And he hugged and kissed them all, and finally they were able to carry on a conversation with him.

If you remember, back when they first sold him to the caravan heading for Egypt, they were so blindly jealous of him that they couldn't even say a positive word to him. Now 22 years have elapsed, and they've had time to reconsider what they did, and realize what it did to their own father; and to treat his little brother who was in the same position he had been in as being Jacob's favorite, better, to accept the situation, and that Jacob loved them, too.

I wonder what Joseph would have done if his brothers had had the same attitude toward Benjamin that they'd had toward him. But, of course, God was working in their attitudes and relationships, and they all had their own families now, too, so they all had a little more wisdom with their increased age and experiences. 

And God had kept Jacob alive, too, to witness the reunification of his family, and to see his beloved, lost son again. 

O my Father, You are so good, and so wise, and so patient with us. You teach us Your patience when You let us wait on You to build in us the character qualities of Your dear Son. Sometimes it takes us a long time to learn, as You made Joseph wait so many years for his brothers to come to the point where they would be ready to reunite with him. 

My Father, You have had me waiting on You for many years, also. I wonder when You will break things loose for me, to be able to fulfill my dreams to serve You. Strengthen me to continue to serve You in the small ways I have been, as I grow in patience and longsuffering, developing Christ's character as a member of His body. 

O Father, send out Your children to witness to our neighbors and our cities and our nations, to demonstrate to the world Your love to counteract all the hatred being spewed out from our enemy. Wake up Your people, to see what is going on around them, and to understand the truth of what it means, so they will choose to respond in a righteous manner. Bring a great Awakening, and a huge revival, Father, so huge that the media cannot ignore it. 

And send out Your children as Your messengers and missionaries to tell the world of Your love in Your Son. Bring every child to the birth in Your family, and fill Your great house with all of Your uncounted progeny. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus! 

The Story Of Joseph Part 21--His Final Testing Of His Brothers

 Genesis 44: 1-34

The brothers have returned to Egypt, this time with their little brother Benjamin, and they have had dinner at Joseph's royal house as his guests. But they still don't know who he is. 

(1) Then he commanded his house steward, saying, "Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man's money in the mouth of his sack. (2) Put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his money for the grain." And he did as Joseph had told him. (3) As soon as it was light, the men were sent away, they with their donkeys. (4) They had just gone out of the city, and were not far off, when Joseph said to his house steward, "Up, follow the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, 'Why have you repaid evil for good? (5) Is not this the one from which my lord drinks and which he indeed uses for divination? You have done wrong in doing this.'" (6) So he overtook them and spoke these words to them. 

Now Joseph is going to bring them back to him, by planting his silver cup in Benjamin's sack, to see the brothers' response to this. He is still testing them.

(7) They said to him, "Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing. (8) Behold, the money which we found in the mouth of our sacks we have brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord's house? 

Now they have to defend themselves, and they remind him that they even returned the money from before, so why would they steal anything, they're honest men!

(9) "With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my lord's slaves." 

Now they're so sure of themselves, they pronounce this severe sentence on themselves.

(10) So he said, "Now let it also be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, and the rest of you shall be innocent." 

Then the chief manservant of the vizier pronounced the just sentence, rather than the severe results they imagined.

(11) Then they hurried, each man lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack. (12) He searched, beginning with the oldest, and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. 

Of course, it was in Benjamin's, as Joseph told his servant to do. 

(13) Then they tore their clothes, and when each man loaded his donkey, they returned to the city. 

So they turned around and went back.

(14) When Judah and his brothers returned to Joseph's house, he was still there, and they fell to the ground before him. (15) Joseph said to them, "What is this deed that you have done? Do you not know that such a man as I can indeed practice divination?" 

Joseph was waiting for them. He wants to hear what they will have to say, what are their attitudes toward him and their father and Benjamin.

(16) So Judah said, What can we say to my lord? What can we speak? And how can we justify ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; behold we are my lord's slaves, both we and the one in whose possession the cup has been found." 

Judah said that they would all be willing to be his slaves.

(17) But he said, "Far be it from me to do this. The man in whose possession the cup has been found, he shall be my slave; but as for you, go up in peace to your father." 

Joseph presents the "reasonable" consequence. Will they go back without Benjamin?

(18) Then Judah approached him, and said, "Oh my lord, may your servant please speak a word in my lord's ears, and do not be angry with your servant; for you are equal to Pharaoh. (19) My lord asked his servants, saying, 'Have you a father or a brother?' (20) We said to my lord, 'We have an old father and a little child of his old age. Now his brother is dead, so he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.' (21) Then you said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me that I may set my eyes on him.' (22) But we said to my lord, 'The lad cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.' (23) You said to your servants, however, 'Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.' (24) Thus it came about when we went up to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. (25) Our father said, 'Go back, buy us a little food.' (26) But 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 unless our youngest brother is with us.' (27) Your servant my father said to us, 'You know that my wife bore me two sons; (28) and the one went out from me and I said, 'Surely he is torn in pieces," and I have not seen him since. (29) If you take this one also from me, and harm befalls him, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.' (30) Now, therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up in the lad's life, (31) when he sees that the lad is not with us, he will die. Thus your servants will bring the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sheol in sorrow. 

And Judah recounts the whole story of what happened since they got home the last time, with the whole situation with their father.

(32) "For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, 'If I do not bring him back to you, then let me bear the blame before my father forever.' 

Now he finds out that Judah is defending Benjamin, his brother. This is good.

(33) "Now, therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers. (34) For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me--for fear that I see the evil that would overtake my father?" 

Now Joseph can understand that his brothers are not persecuting his brother as they did him, that they treasure him and respect the bond their father has with him. 

This is what he's been wanting to see. They are not wanting to get rid of Benjamin like they did him, and they are repenting of treating Joseph the way they did. 

How will he now respond to this? 

O my Father, You are so good to Joseph to show him how his brothers have grown, and You are so good to all of Your children. Even when it seems that there are years of waiting, and betrayals by those we love the most, You use it all for our benefit and our good, and You receive the glory. 

O Father, grow up all Your children, and send us all out in our own ways to share with the world how much You love us all! Let every living person hear and know that You have already met their deepest needs, and let Your Love counteract all the hatred that is spewing out all over world. 

Father, bring all Your children to the birth into Your family, and grow us up so that we all will attain to the stature of the Son of God. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!