As Joesph’s brothers finished their feast with
him, Joseph gave instructions to the steward of his house to fill each man’s
sack with as much food as he could carry and then put each man’s silver inside
their sack. Then he told the steward to
put his own personal silver cup in the mouth of Benjamin’s sack along with his
silver. The steward did as he was
instructed.
When the morning came, the men were sent back
home, riding on their donkeys. When they
had gone only a short distance, 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? Isn’t this the cup my
master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.
So the steward rode out and found them and spoke
to them as Joseph had commanded.
Of course the brother’s were stunned to think
this could be happening. They answered
Joseph’s steward with surprise and astonishment.
“Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like
that! We even returned 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? If any of your
servants is found to have it, he will die, and the rest of us will become my
lord’s slaves!”
Did you cringe when you heard them speak those
words to Joseph’s steward? I surely
did. Never waste words in an important
situation, the less said the better; like Jesus always admonished his servants
later, let your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no.” The outcry of this brother surely brought
them even more trouble!
“Very well!” said the steward. “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.”
All of their sacks were lowered to the ground
and opened. The steward mysteriously
started with the oldest and ended with the youngest. Of course the cup was found in Benjamin’s
sack!
When the brothers saw this they tore their
clothes. This was their way of publicly
stating to the world they were in mourning.
Surely they were in anguish! The
precious son that they had promised their father they would look after was
wrongly sentenced to death! They loaded
their donkeys and returned to the city of Joseph.
Joseph was still at his house when they arrived. Judah and his brothers went straight to him
and threw themselves at his feet.
Joseph said “What have you done? Don’t you know that a man like me can find
things out by divination?”
“What can we say?” they answered. “What can we say? How can we prove that we are innocent? God has uncovered your servant’s guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves, we, ourselves;
and the one who was found to have the cup.”
Joseph answered them; “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.”
To their father in peace? Are you kidding!!!
Judah, remembering his promise to their father
pleaded with Joseph. “Pardon your
servant, my lord, let me speak a word to you.
Do not be angry with your servant, though you are equal to Pharaoh
himself. My lord asked his servants, ‘Do
you have a father or a brother?’ and we answered ‘We have an aged father, and
there is a young son born to him in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one
of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’ Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him
down to me so I can see him for myself. And we said to my lord, ‘the boy cannot
leave his father; if he leaves him, his father will die.’ But you told your servants, ‘Unless your
youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’ When we went back to your servant my father,
we told him what my lord had said. Then
our father said, ‘Go back and buy a little more food.’ But we said, “We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother is with us will
we go. We cannot see the man’s face
unless our youngest brother is with us.’
Your servant, our father, said to us, ‘You know
that my wife bore me two sons. One of
them went away from me, and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces. And I have not seen him since. If you take this one from me too and harm
comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery.’
So now if the boy is not with us when I go back
to your servant, my father, and if my father whose life is closely bound up
with the boy’s life, sees that the boy isn’t there, he will die. Your servant guaranteed the boy’safety to my
father. I said, ‘If I do not bring him
back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all of my life.
Now then, please let your servant remain here as
my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his
brothers. How can I go back to my father
if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come
on my father!”
And so the brothers all waited patiently and
hopefully for Joseph’s reply. They knew
whatever happened they would have trouble when they returned. Either way, their father would have lost a
son, whether it was Judah or Benjamin.
