The Book of Genesis
Day 410
Ge 43:15 So the
men took that present and Benjamin, and they took double money in their hand,
and arose and went down to Egypt; and they stood before Joseph. 16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he
said to the steward of his house, "Take these men to my home, and
slaughter an animal and make ready; for these men will dine with me at
noon." 17 Then the man did as
Joseph ordered, and the man brought the men into Joseph's house. 18 Now the men were afraid because they were
brought into Joseph's house; and they said, "It is because of the money,
which was returned in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that
he may make a case against us and fall upon us, to take us as slaves with our
donkeys." 19 When they drew near to
the steward of Joseph's house, they talked with him at the door of the
house, 20 and said, "O sir, we
indeed came down the first time to buy food;
21 "but it happened, when we came to the encampment, that we opened
our sacks, and there, each man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money
in full weight; so we have brought it back in our hand. 22 "And we have brought down other money
in our hands to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our
sacks." 23 But he said, "Peace
be with you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given
you treasure in your sacks; I had your money." Then he brought Simeon out
to them.
Joseph knows only
too well the animosity between the sons of Leah and the sons of Rachel. His
heart is gladdened to see his brother Benjamin alive and well. He is glad to
see that his father was finally able to let Benjamin go and trust his brothers
to bring him to Egypt. So glad, that he decides to throw a feast for them.
Now remember, the
brothers know nothing of this feast, they just know they are being taken to
Joseph’s house and their natural reaction was fear! They were not yet aware of
the grace that awaited them there. They
were still thinking in terms of judgment. “We are here because of that money
that was in our sacks! He’s going to use this as an excuse to make us his
slaves.” They were afraid of suffering the punishment they deserved. Justice
would demand that they end up as slaves just as their brother Joseph did, and
now it looked like God was finally bringing it to pass.
Notice how they
begin to justify and plead their cause with Joseph’s servant. They maintain
their innocence and the servant responds with the sweet words of grace. Words
that God has uttered throughout the generations. Words that were uttered by His
Son Jesus. Words that say, “never mind your fleshly justifications, your
pretensions of innocence, your fear of punishment and justice being meted out
to you. No! Peace be with you, fear not!”
And why should
they not fear? The same reason you and I should not fear. Because that treasure
in their sacks that the servant spoke of, is the same treasure God has supplied
for us. God’s treasure of forgiveness is freely given. His justice was meted
out when HE sent His only Son to die on the cross and pay the price of our
sins. He doesn’t want our effort, our justification, our pleas of innocence. He
wants us to simple surrender and receive the free gift of salvation….the
treasure of His Son Jesus Christ.
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