Daily Scripture Reading Genesis 43:31 - 44:17
Humans have a natural tendency to prefer that life be easy. We don’t want a lot of stress and pain. However, obstacles and pressure reveal our true character. Today’s passage illustrates the use of duress in order to find out what what is in the heart of a person.
When Jacob’s sons went to Egypt the second time, they took Benjamin along with them. When Joseph saw his brothers, he instructed his servant to take his brothers to his house and prepare a meal. When Joseph arrived, he inquired after the welfare of their father, and then asked if the young man was the brother they had mentioned on the previous trip, but the emotion of the moment was so great Joseph had to go to his private chamber and weep.
Gen. 43:31 Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself and said, “Set the meal.”
Gen. 43:32 So they set the meal for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians.
There were three separate groups. Joseph was one group. Joseph’s brothers were a second group, and the Egyptians were a third group.
They were in separate groups because the Egyptians refused to eat with Hebrews. This event happened when Egypt was the dominant power in the world, which explains why they felt superior to everyone else, particularly a small, politically irrelevant group like the Hebrews.
It is curious that the Egyptians did not eat with Joseph. Perhaps that is because, as the ruler, Joseph always ate by himself. More likely it is because, even though Joseph was second in command, the Egyptians knew Joseph was a Hebrew. Genesis 41:12 tells us Joseph was identified as a Hebrew when he interpreted Pharaoh’s dream. What is curious is whether the brothers should have been suspicious about why Joseph did not eat with the Egyptians.
Gen. 43:33 And they were seated before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth, and the men looked at one another in astonishment.
Look at the word “astonishment”. The brothers were astonished that the Egyptians knew their birth order. It seems the brothers should have been aware that something was not as it seemed.
Gen. 43:34 And he took portions to them from his own table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times greater than any of theirs. So they feasted and drank freely with him.
Take note that Benjamin got five times more than each of his brothers. Joseph was testing his brothers. He wanted to see how they would react when Benjamin was given preferential treatment.
Gen. 44:1 ¶ 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.
Gen. 44:2 Now 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.
Gen. 44:3 As the morning light broke, the men were sent away, they with their donkeys.
Gen. 44:4 Now they had just gone out of the city and were not far off when Joseph said to his house steward, “Arise, pursue the men; you shall overtake them and say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good?
Gen. 44:5 Is not this the one from which my lord drinks and which he indeed uses to interpret omens? You have done evil in doing this.’”
Look at the phrase “uses to interpret omens”. This does not mean Joseph actually interpreted omens. This was merely something the steward was told to say to inflate the value of the cup and increase the severity of the offense of stealing it. It was something said as part of the test.
Gen. 44:6 ¶ So he overtook them and spoke these words to them.
Gen. 44:7 And they said to him, “Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing.
Gen. 44:8 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?
This was a good argument. If the brothers were trying to be dishonest, they would not have alerted the Egyptians to the fact that their money was returned to them on their first trip.
Gen. 44:9 With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my lord’s slaves.”
Look at the phrase “let him die”. They were so confident they did not have the cup, they were willing to offer to be put to death if it was found with them. Since their money had been put back in their sacks without their knowledge on their first trip, it seems they should not have been so confident that nothing was put into their sacks without their knowledge on this trip.
Gen. 44:10 So he said, “Now let it also be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, but the rest of you shall be innocent.”
Gen. 44:11 Then they hurried, each man brought his sack down to the ground, and each man opened his sack.
Gen. 44:12 So he searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.
Gen. 44:13 Then they tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey and returned to the city.
Notice the statement “they tore their clothes”. The brothers knew their father would not react well if Benjamin did not return home.
Gen. 44:14 ¶ Then Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, and he was still there. So they fell to the ground before him.
Gen. 44:15 And Joseph said to them, “What is this deed that you have done? Do you not know that such a man as I can indeed interpret omens?”
Look at the word “omens”. Again, this does not mean Joseph actually interpreted omens. He simply needed an explanation for how he knew they had his cup, so he pretended he had used omens to learn that the brothers had stolen the cup.
Gen. 44:16 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.”
Gen. 44:17 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 was testing his brothers. Joseph wanted to know if his brothers had changed. He wanted to know how they would react if Benjamin was favored and whether or not they would go to great lengths to protect Benjamin in order to prevent heartache to their father. In some ways this seems cruel, and yet the only way for Joseph to truly discern the heart of his brothers was to put them under extreme duress and see how they would react.
This is a tactic used by modern militaries when they recruit special forces. The US Navy SEALs are famous for having a brutal selection and training process. Many people don’t understand why the method for training SEALs has to be so difficult that only 20% of the candidates make it through the program. However, the purpose of the SEALs is to carry out very difficult missions, and the only way to make sure every SEAL is capable of carrying out those missions is to put each candidate under extreme duress and see how they respond.
Some of the best athletic coaches and music teachers also use this tactic. They create noise and distractions while their students are practicing in order to teach their students to concentrate and perform well no matter what is happening around them. This seems cruel, but the duress gives the athletes and musicians the focus and determination they need to reach their fullest potential.
In what ways has this tactic been used to train you?
In what ways have you employed this tactic to train others?
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”