How To Achieve Complete Reconciliation?

(Genesis 44: 1-17)

[Part 1 of 2]

When you get to the latter end of the Book of Genesis, we see this whole alienation and reconciliation played out between Joseph and his brothers. It a lengthy narrative played out over more than 10 chapters. We’ve witnessed the beginning of that process in the previous chapters. There are several chapters on the subject of this reconciliation, but their insights into each episode of this reconciliation that can be applied beyond their situation to ours.  So, what we’re going to do is look at the next episode is the ongoing saga of Joseph being reconciled to his brothers and you may recall the story so far

His brother had sold him into slavery because of jealousy and he ended up in Egypt, and as you know, he ends up in jail. And then from there, he amazingly in one day goes from prisoner to Prime Minister of Egypt. Second in charge in all of Egypt only answerable to Pharoah. Then the famine arrives, the famine that he had warned was coming arrives in the region. Meanwhile, his brothers are sent by his father Jacob, now called Israel to Egypt to get food but he recognizes them, but they don’t recognize him. He asked questions about their circumstances and establishes that only ten of the brothers came and one has been left back with the father named Benjamin. He tells them to return to Canaan and to come back again with their father and the other youngest brother called Benjamin, he tells them. I’m going to keep hold of Simeon until you come back with Benjamin. That was the deal, and sure enough, they go back home, but their father at first would not let them take Benjamin back to Egypt. However, the famine gests so severe, he finally conceded and said, alright, you can take Benjamin. So, the brothers go back to Egypt again and they take Benjamin with them. What that does in the overall scheme of the reconciling them is Joseph has made them demonstrate that they can be trusted. He didn’t trust him automatically, I mean, they sold him into slavery, but there's more to the story.

So, he decided to test them this way. The question becomes, what else does there need to be for there to be reconciliation? If there’s going to be complete reconciliation between these deeply divided parties, what else has to happen? 

And that is where we come to in Genesis Chapter 44. Keep in mind that as we open the story, these brothers have demonstrated their trustworthiness. So, Joseph has already in his heart forgiven them, but that’s not the issue. They demonstrated their trustworthy then what else is there to discover here? Well, let’s look at Genesis, Chapter 4: V 1, 

Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry and put each man’s silver in the mouth of his sack. Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver for his grain.” And he did as Joseph said.   As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys.

(Genesis 44: 1-3)

Now let’s pause for just a second. The last episode ended with them having a banquet. The banquet is now over and Joseph says to the steward, I want you to give them as much grain as they can possibly carry back on their donkeys and then I want you to put the money that they paid for the grain back in for the saddle bags. I want you to take this cup of mine and put it in the sack of the youngest. The youngest of course was Benjamin. This simply tells us they did that and the brothers departed. They were going back to Canaan with food, money and a cup, a cup that they shouldn’t have had possession of. Not to mention the money. So, the question is, what is going on? What is he doing now? He's already made them demonstrate that they're trustworthy. What's this one about? Why is he doing this now? 

The answer seems to be that he is now setting up Benjamin as a thief, because as we will see in a minute, he’s going to send the Steward after them and Benjamin is going to be caught with the cup in his sack. He’s plotting against them, but the nature of his scheme Is to see if they will they stick up for Benjamin? Will they have compassion on Benjamin, or will they just say let him go, take him back? Will they say, take him back and throw him in prison and we will go on our way, which is what they did to Joseph when he was young, remember. So, what’s going on here is another test and the question is, how will they respond to this test?

These opening 3 verses just tell us about the conspiracy which revolves around the silver cup, we will get the significance of it in a minute. The next set of verses shows us the brothers being confronted, so let’s pick up the story at verse four.

They had not gone far from the city when 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.’”

(Genesis 44: 4-5)

Joseph then says, I want you catch him up and accuse them of stealing his cup that he used to divine truth somehow. Now that sounds like paganism, and later in the Mosaic law that type of thing is forbidden, so the question becomes, did Joseph really use it for that purpose? I think their indications later in the story, no, he didn't actually use it, but this just forms part of the deception he is planning. That’s his instruction, go overtake him and accuse the youngest of stealing that sacred cup.

When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them. But they said to him, “Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like that! We even brought back to you 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.”

(Genesis 44: 6-9)

They are so sure that they know none of them took the cup, that they’re indignant. They are confident, so they say. Look, you search all of us and if someone did take it, whoever took it, that person can die and the rest of us, will we all become your slaves? They make this incredible declaration that whoever stole that cup, can be killed and if anyone of us did it, the rest of us will become your slave. They’re so confident that none of them took the cup.

“Very well, then,” he said, “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.”

(Genesis 44: 10)

Now the steward is speaking. And he says now wait a minute. let’s nott get too hasty. I tell you what. If we find the cup, then we won’t blame the rest of people just blame the one who is guilty? This is the test this is the whole point of this story. Verse 11.

Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.

(Genesis 44: 11-13)

Can you just imagine the drama? They’re ten brothers, no, at this point, they’re eleven. So, they start with the oldest, and they go through them in age order, and as they go through the second third fourth etc, you can imagine them thinking, we told you so, and they go to the next one, go to the next one and they probably with each additional brother they get more and more cocky and confident. They are probably thinking “We told you we didn’t take the cup”, but then they get to Benjamin and the cup was in Benjamin’s sack.

At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city. Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him.

(Genesis 44: 13-14)

I really believe these brothers are in emotional agony now, I mean, they promised their father Jacob, they would bring Benjamin back and now Benjamin has been set up to be a thief and dragged back to Egypt. So, the big question is, are you going to stick by their brother because they didn't stick by Joseph. So, the test is to see if they will desert him, and that I believe is the whole point of Joseph’s scheme.

So, this is the turning point of the story. They tore their clothes, which in the ancient world this was a sign of grief, bereavement. But even though they are terrified they’re going to go and try and get Benjamin back. So, they go back to the city, and they throw themselves upon the mercy of Joseph…. Verse 15 says. 

Joseph said to them, “What is this you have done? Don’t you know that a man like me can find things out by divination?” 

(Genesis 44: 15)

Now he knows they think he is an Egyptian and he says you probably think because I am an Egyptian that I can do things by divination. Apparently, he didn’t need the cup to do it because he’s implying he did it without the cup. But he did do something similar because he was the interpreter of dreams. That’s what got him into trouble in the first place. Matter of fact, this story starts with him having a dream. Then he interprets a dream in prison up to other prisoners, and then he interprets Pharaoh’s dream. Only in these cases, it was the Lord that was giving him this information. Then Judah speaks up in verse 16. 

“What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves—we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup.” But Joseph said, “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.”

(Genesis 44: 16-17)

Now couple of observations which are very important to understanding the story. They say God has found us out. That seems to imply that they’re admitting they’re guilty, and perhaps that’s because they must be thinking, perhaps Benjamin did take the cup. Maybe they think God is punishing them for their sin they committed in originally selling Joseph into slavery. So maybe the chickens have come home to roost kind of thing. Maybe what they’re acknowledging they committed this sin long, long ago and the Lord is disciplining us because of that sin. But here’s what’s significant again. The crux of the story.

They say here we are we are my Lord slaves, and here’s the critical part. Both we and he, are yours to do with what you wish and by doing so they are demonstrating their loyalty to their brother and that is what this story all about. This is critical, these brothers are really changed people. Joseph, he became a slave, they sold him into slavery but now they are transformed into people that are not going to allow that to happen to Benjamin on his own They’re going to stick by him, they are going to be loyal to him, no matter what the consequences and this is what Joseph wanted to hear. We will pick up the rest of the story, beginning with verse 17, in the next episode.