Genesis 44:1-34

April 23, 2017

Lord’s Day Worship

Sean Higgins

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The sermon starts at 17:10 in the audio file.

Or, Joseph’s Final Test of His Brothers

Repentance takes many forms. When a man repents from lying he should tell the truth. When a man repents from stealing, he should restore what was stolen and add some to it. When a child disobeys her parents, she should ask for forgiveness and then do what she was told. Repentance turns away from the sin committed just as a doctor prescribes exercises for the hurting part of the body.

Joseph’s brothers were in need of repentance and, while Joseph couldn’t recreate the exact scene, he does create a similar opportunity to see what was in his brother’s hearts. A silver cup becomes a crucible for testing.

Joseph’s ten older brothers hated him. Resentment toward his side of the family started before he was born since their father loved Rachel more than Leah, though Leah gave birth to Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Jacob’s first four sons. There were six more sons born to Rachel’s servant and Leah’s servant and Leah all before Rachel bore Joseph and Benjamin. So the brothers grew up in a household of favoritism before Rachel died, and then a husband’s doting turned to a father’s doting on Joseph.

It got to the point where Joseph’s older brothers “could not speak peacefully” (Genesis 35:4) to him because he was loved more than them. When he told his dreams about reigning over them “they hated him even more” (Genesis 35:8) and “were jealous of him” (Genesis 35:11). So “they conspired against him to kill him,” but while making their plans Judah saw a caravan of traders and got the idea that there was more “profit” in selling him as a slave than killing him. All they had to do was lie to Jacob, but what would be so bad about that? It’s not like their dad cared about them.

The scene in chapter 44 is a little more complex, namely because they didn’t know how long the famine would last, so they didn’t know how long they would need to keep dealing with “the man” in Egypt who seemed to be concerned about their younger brother. The older brothers have the opportunity handed to them to get rid of the new favored son, an opportunity that required nothing from them but to tell the truth. More than getting rid of Benjamin, here was their opportunity to get rid of Jacob, to get out from under the burden of his erratic headship, and to take hold of the inheritance coming to them.

Not only do they not do any of those things, they, at least through Judah’s leadership, show that true repentance had taken place.

The Final Test (verses 1-13)

Joseph and these eleven Hebrew men feasted together (Genesis 43:26-34) and, most importantly, “Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs” (Genesis 43:34). But they all “drank and were merry with him,” so it seems that they aren’t peeved at this preferential treatment. That was a good sign to Joseph, and now Joseph frames his brothers by recreating a similar scene as a final test.

The Setup (verses 1-5)

Joseph clearly trusted his steward. His steward was in on the setup again. The first time these Hebrew men visited Egypt to buy food Joseph had commanded the steward to put their money back in their sacks (Genesis 42:25). When the men came to get Simeon and buy food the second time, the steward said, “Your God and the God of your father has put the treasure in the sacks of for you” (Genesis 43:23). He did it, but he said that God did it.

After the party was over Joseph gives instructions again to fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry and also to put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack. The steward was especially trusted when Joseph said, put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest. It was silver, not gold, so the point isn’t about the costliness as much as it is about the uniqueness. This was Joseph’s cup, easy to identify as his, and [...]