The Book of Genesis
Part 88
Chapter 43:15-38
Fulfilment
As the conversation between the would-be purchasers and the Food Administrator progressed. we read,
“And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.” Without doubt Joseph recalled his dreams, and the stern rebuke given by his father when he told them: “What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?” (Gen. 3.7:10).
Joseph’s long discipline of his brethren was not in the way of revenge, nor was it to impress upon them, when at last he revealed himself to them, his superiority and importance. Much rather, it was to reveal to them deep-seated guilt complexes, to treat old corruption, and to break evil habits. He attempted to touch their consciences, subdue their wills, and to produce in their hearts true repentance of their wicked ways. His chastisement of his brethren was intended to restore strong and righteous characters which had been impaired by sin and wickedness.
Knowledge
Joseph not only sought to reveal these men to themselves, but he yearned to reveal himself to them, so, in view of the time of his full disclosure to them, he gave intimations of his inner knowledge of their family.
In the dining hall Joseph took care of all the arrangements himself, and, as would be expected, in perfect accord with Egyptian customs. This becomes very evident as he places his brethren for their meal. We read, “And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth.” We are not, consequently, surprised to read, “The men marvelled one at another.” How could he have known their respective ages? This amazement was further intensified when Joseph sent a much larger portion to Benjamin. We might well enquire, did he favour Benjamin in order to prove whether or not the rest were jealous, or did he act in this knowledgeable manner in order to see if they could possibly recognize their long-lost brother? It seems so difficult at times to detect the almost obvious; fear and wonderment may in themselves hinder the powers of perception.
Dr. Griffith Thomas, in his Devotional Commentary on the Book of Genesis, has a very instructive paragraph upon this chapter, he writes: “The moral power of fear —There is scarcely anything more interesting and striking in the story of Joseph’s brethren than the way in which they were impressed and actuated by fear from first to last. Fear possessed them on their first journey; fear actuated them when they found the money in their sacks (42:28); fear continued to affect them as they once again appeared before Joseph (43:18); and the crowning fear was seen when the discovery was made of the cup. God uses fear to recall the heart to Himself. Fear probs, searches, warns, purifies, and keeps the heart tender and true, sensitive to God’s will, and ever shrinking from that which is evil. The “fear of the Lord” has two sides, a shrinking from sin and an intense desire to be true to God — and it is because of these things that it is the beginning of wisdom.
There are few subjects more worthy of careful and prolonged attention and practical meditation than the fear of the Lord as it is revealed in Holy Scripture.”
Chapter 44:1-17
It is difficult to decide whether Joseph’s scheme of putting his silver goblet into the mouth of Benjamin’s sack was to further test his brethren in order that he determine how deep and real was the moral change in their hearts, or simply to arrest and to retain Benjamin in Egypt as he had done with Simeon. Was Joseph afraid that without one of his brethren in Egypt, he might again lose contact with his family?
He might have considered it necessary to subject his brethren to one more test of love and loyalty; they had sold him into slavery, and abandoned him completely, would they act similarly in the case of his full brother, Benjamin? This seems to be the severest test of Joseph’s austerity. It was through this probing that Joseph earned the full story of his father’s love, not only for Benjamin but toward himself.
The test provided extensive information. Joseph learned more completely the deep change that time and repentance had wrought in his brothers, of their attachment to and care for his own brother Benjamin, of his father’s love for the child of his old age, and of the grief his father suffered over the supposed death of his other son, Joseph himself.
In the case of Joseph’s brethren, they were proved by an ancient Egyptian custom, that of a divining bowl. To them Joseph was an Egyptian prince. Such means of producing prognostics were as common, if not more common, among the nobility of the Ancient World as tea-cup reading is now in parts of England.
The assumption that Joseph had descended to the superstitions of the land of his adoption is quite unfounded. He was still acting incognito, still concealing his true identity, and therefore played the part of a man of his rank and times.
All unconsciously his brethren were being tried by the common affairs of life, true they did not understand them; nevertheless, they were circumstances which could have happened to anyone. Is it not true that the most effective test of character is the routine circumstances of life? The simple test of how they drank water indicated the type of men God needed for Gideon’s army. “The lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eye, and the pride of life” are not only the avenues of temptation, but they are steps in the process of testing character. A weakness in David’s character was detected under just such a test.
Two lamps had been stolen from a chapel being built in India. Being convinced that they had been taken by one of the workmen, the constable assigned to the case directed that all the men be fetched immediately. Seeing one of them more nervous than the others, he enquired of this man what he knew about the stolen goods. The poor fellow in terror dropped at the policeman’s feet as if he had been shot, and cried, “True, true, I took them!” Some such sight must have resulted in Joseph’s presence that day when all his brothers filed in and fell down before him.