|
|
Notes on Genesis 44
- 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 money in
his sack's mouth.
- 2 And put my cup,
the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his
corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had
spoken.
- 3 As soon as the
morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses.
Joseph wasn't about to just let them go yet
but contrived a plan to test the brothers further to see if they had
changed from the men they were before.
- Genesis 44:4 And when they
were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto
his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost
overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil
for good?
- 5 Is not this it in
which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have
done evil in so doing.
- 6 And he overtook
them, and he spoke unto them these same words.
- 7 And they said
unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that
thy servants should do according to this thing:
- 8 Behold, the
money, which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again
unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal
out of thy lord's house silver or gold?
- 9 With whomsoever
of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will
be my lord's bondmen.
They had no idea that any cup was in any of
their sacks or they wouldn't have said as much.
This reminds me of the time when Rachel stole
her father's images and hid them in the camel furniture. Jacob had
said the same to Laban not knowing Rachel had taken the images.
In this case though the brothers were
innocent. Perhaps this is a reminder of how they once sold an
innocent person to slavery when he had done nothing to deserve this
by his brothers. As we read these passages we can see Joseph's
motive is to test them.
This also is a good example of salvation. We
can't be saved from sin if we never admit that we need to be saved
from sin. Before one can be truly born again by God's spirit, he or
she must acknowledge their need to be born again. We have to see
that we need someone to save us before we can be saved. These
brothers had to be reminded of their sins of the past before they
could acknowledge that they were wrong. They may have done that by
now but Joseph would have no way of knowing that so he had to see
how they would react if their brother, whom their father loved best
had his life in jeopardy.
- Genesis 44:10 And he said, Now
also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is
found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless.
- 11 Then they
speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened
every man his sack.
- 12 And he searched,
and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup
was found in Benjamin's sack.
Had these brothers been the same as when they
sold Joseph to the Ishmaelite tribe, they would have just let them
take Benjamin and not care. We see their reaction was altogether
different from how they was before. This probably made Joseph
rejoice in his heart when we saw that they did care for Benjamin's
life.
Tearing at one's clothes in despair was a
sign of grief and mourning. They did not just allow the men to take
Benjamin but was willing to die in Benjamin's place if it was
necessary to save his life.
- Genesis 44:14 And Judah and
his brethren came to Joseph's house; for he was yet there: and
they fell before him on the ground.
- 15 And Joseph said
unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? know ye not that
such a man as I can certainly divine?
- 16 And Judah said,
What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how
shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy
servants: behold, we are my lord's servants, both we, and he
also with whom the cup is found.
- 17 And he said, God
forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is
found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in
peace unto your father.
- 18 Then Judah came
near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray
thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger
burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh.
- 19 My lord asked
his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother?
- 20 And we said unto
my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old
age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left
of his mother, and his father loveth him.
- 21 And thou saidst
unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine
eyes upon him.
- 22 And we said unto
my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave
his father, his father would die.
- 23 And thou saidst
unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with
you, ye shall see my face no more.
- 24 And it came to
pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the
words of my lord.
- 25 And our father
said, Go again, and buy us a little food.
- 26 And we said, We
cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we
go down: for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest
brother be with us.
- 27 And thy servant
my father said unto us, Ye 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 saw
him not since:
- 29 And if ye take
this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down
my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
- 30 Now therefore
when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with
us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life;
- 31 It shall come to
pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will
die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy
servant our father with sorrow to the grave.
- 32 For thy servant
became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him
not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father forever.
- 33 Now therefore, I
pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to
my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren.
- 34 For how shall I
go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest
peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.
Wouldn't you know that it would be Judah that
would be the one who would step up and offer himself in the place of
Benjamin. Judah was the one who was the line that Jesus Christ was
to come through.
Judah was willing to take his place just like
Christ took our place on the cross and died for our sins since He
had no sin of His own. The just suffered on behalf of the unjust.
They thought Benjamin was guilty so Judah was willing to bear the
guilt so that Benjamin would be able to go free. I would say from
this that at least one brother had truly changed. The Lord is
wonderful and marvelous in all His ways. He changed the heart of
Esau who was once full of hate toward Jacob but when Jacob returned
home, Esau wept with joy to see him.
Repentance brings such cleansing and
refreshing from the spirit of God. Perhaps we do not always get
victory over sin because we truly have not repented of sin.
Repentance means to be sorrow for sin yes, but to the point of
turning from that sin and not going back into it. If we still are
living in sin after receiving Christ into our lives, then we have
not truly repented. We are holding something back that will always
hinder us and keep us from wholly following the Lord.
Christ came to
make us free from sin. We don't have to carry around jealousy, hate,
and greed. The Jew can love the Muslim, the Muslim can love the Jew
by the power of Jesus Christ. We don't have to hate if we choose to
turn from it and turn to Christ. Without faith in Christ, there is
no power over sin. We are slaves to it. That is why He came. To save
us from sin. The law of God condemns all of us. We are all sinners
because we have broken the laws of God. Jesus died for breaking a
law He did not break. He died in our place. We can be free from the
condemnation of the law through faith in Christ by repenting of sin
and turning to Him for forgiveness and also victory over sin. DC
Genesis 45
|
|