Verses 1-2 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.
Joseph is setting up his brothers for a final test. He repeats what happened on their first trip to Egypt when their money was returned, but this time he includes his silver cup in Benjamin’s sack
Application: Reuben and Jacob must have breathed a huge sign of relief as they left the city behind because these brothers had pledged to be responsible for Benjamin and Simeon and to return them to their father, Israel. The way forward must have seem clear and uncomplicated. Often, the believer will receive from God the answer to their prayer and the way forward will seem clear and uncomplicated. But then an obstacle will arise that changes the direction in which the believer is going and will return him/her to the problem or situation being dealt with in the first place. Israel’s sons were headed away from Egypt, only to be stopped and forced to return to the place they wanted to leave behind, under circumstances that appeared to be far worse than before.
Verses 3-5 As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses. 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.
One might wonder what Joseph’s servant thought about all of this. He most definitely would have a tale to tell his family at the end of the day. But being a servant did not allow for asking questions of the master giving the orders. His job was to obey and trust Joseph to be doing the right thing.
Application: Like the servant of Joseph, the Christian believer’s job is to obey even if the orders from the LORD do not make sense at the time. Often the believer is being asked by the LORD, “Do you trust me?” Remember, it made no sense for Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. He was being tested to determine how much he loved God. So follow the LORD’s directives and see the blessing that He will give to those that obey and trust fully.
Verses 6-9 And he overtook them, and he spake 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.
The sons of Israel did not know when to be silent and to stand still and wait upon the LORD. They were always making brash statements that placed them in a more precarious position. Here they basically bound the very boy they were to protect to a death sentence and themselves to a life of servitude. They had no idea that the cup was in Benjamin’s sack. They were reckless in their response and defense. The question should arise, “If money was found in their sacks on trip number one, then why did they not check their sacks before they left the city to be sure that their sacks were indeed only full of grain?” After all, the money and cup were just in the mouth or opening of the sacks and not at the bottom. That would have been the prudent and responsible way to proceed. Joseph had to know his brothers very well to once again trick them.
Application: God knows each believer very well and He knows how they will react in advance. Tests from God are often provided for the Christian believer to train for a different response so that the believer will grow and mature and be more Christ-like. When tests come, be silent and stand still and wait upon the LORD. He will show each believer how to react and how to handle the test in a manner that is glorifying to Him. An example of this can be seen when people encounter a stressful situation. Family members waiting in an Emergency Room for news about a loved one will handle the stress in many ways. But the true believer will be the one that is calm and patient because the situation has been given over to the LORD and the outcome will be accepted regardless of whether it is positive or negative.
Verses 10-12 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.
Notice that the servant, although he basically said, “You will be held to the words of your mouth in this matter,” did not accept the offer for the guilty party to die, but only the offer for the guilty party to remain a servant. And he only would hold the person with the cup and let the others go. Notice also that the servant knew very well that the cup was in Benjamin’s sack because he had put it there, yet he deliberately started his search with the oldest son’s sack and then went through all eleven of them in descending order. If you, the reader, have never experienced a pack horse or a pack llama fully loaded, then it will be difficult to appreciated how long it takes to unpack the horse or llama and then reload the packs. It takes quite a bit of time. By choosing to search from the eldest to the youngest sons’ animals, the tension was mounting and the suspense becoming greater and greater as the sons of Israel had to stand by and watch the whole process.
Verses 13-15 Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city. 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? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?
The Hebrew word for “divine” is “nachash” and it means to practice divination or fortunetelling. It is not known if Joseph really was involved in this Satanic activity or if he was just acting as if he did. The Egyptians practiced witchcraft in the worship of their many gods and so, since Joseph was passing himself off as an Egyptian to his brothers, perhaps he was continuing to play a part. Don’t really know, but previous verses confirm that he knew the God of his fathers and that he relied on the one true God to help him discern dreams. You decide.
Verse 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.
Judah finally admitted that there was sin in his life and in the lives of his brothers and that God knew about it and was bringing judgement upon them.
Application: Unfortunately, just like Judah and his brothers, people today often have to be in serious trouble before they will admit that their lives are a mess, full of sin, and that they need Jesus. You as a believer may be sorrowful if you are watching someone you care about go from bad to worse in their lives, but often this has to happen before they will listen to the message of the Gospel and then repent of their sins. Only then, after true repentance, can God work in their lives for good. So keep praying and be patient.
Verse 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.
It appears from this verse that Joseph’s plan all along was to get his brother Benjamin into Egypt and to keep him there. Therefore, it would be fine with him to have the rest of his brothers return to his father, Israel. Joseph loved his father and did not want to cause him hurt or emotional pain.
Verses 18-26 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.
Judah took the responsibility of being the spokesman for his brothers. This was risky as Joseph, being as powerful as Pharaoh, could have had him imprisoned or killed for taking the liberty of arguing with his decision.
Verses 27-31 And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare 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: 2 9 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.
Judah truly believed that returning without Benjamin would cause the death of Israel.
Verses 32-34 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 for ever. 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.
Judah offered to stay in Egypt in place of Benjamin. This was quite a different attitude than was displayed when selling Joseph into slavery many years before.
Application: Jesus was born into the tribe of Judah, and just as Judah was willing to take the place of Benjamin and thereby provide salvation for his brother from what he thought would be Egyptian bondage, Jesus took the place of all mankind to release all who will come to Him from the bondage of slavery to sin, death and Hell.