The Book of
Genesis 44
34 verses≈ 6 min4 peopleBSB
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In this chapter
Where we are
- 1–11BeginningsCreation, fall, flood, Babel
- 12–24AbrahamThe call and the promise
- 25–36Isaac and JacobThe promise passed on
- 37–50JosephGod meant it for goodChapter 44
Benjamin and the Silver Cup
Joseph
Then Joseph instructed his steward: “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each one’s silver in the mouth of his sack. Put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver for his grain.” So the steward did as Joseph had instructed.
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At daybreak, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys.
Joseph
They had not gone far from the city when Joseph told his steward, “Pursue the men at once, and when you overtake them, ask, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil? Is this not the cup my master drinks from and uses for divination? What you have done is wicked!’”
When the steward overtook them, he relayed these words to them.
Joseph's brothers
“Why does my lord say these things?” they asked. “Your servants could not possibly do such a thing. We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found in the mouths of our sacks. Why would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? If any of your servants is found to have it, he must die, and the rest will become slaves of my lord.”
Joseph's steward
“As you say,” replied the steward. “But only the one who is found with the cup will be my slave, and the rest of you shall be free of blame.”
So each one quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. The steward searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest—and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.
Then they all tore their clothes, loaded their donkeys, and returned to the city.
Reflect
They all went back
The steward had told them, “the rest of you shall be free of blame.” They could have gone home. Years before, these same brothers had let Rachel’s first son go to Egypt without a backward look. This time “they all tore their clothes, loaded their donkeys, and returned to the city.” Who in your life is easy to leave behind when staying costs you something? Write down what loyalty to them would look like this week.
When Judah and his brothers arrived at Joseph’s house, he was still there, and they fell to the ground before him.
Joseph
“What is this deed you have done?” Joseph declared. “Do you not know that a man like me can surely divine the truth?”
Judah
“What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “How can we plead? How can we justify ourselves? God has exposed the iniquity of your servants. We are now my lord’s slaves—both we and the one who was found with the cup.”
Joseph
But Joseph replied, “Far be it from me to do this. The man who was found with the cup will be my slave. The rest of you may return to your father in peace.”
God has exposed the iniquity of your servants.
Genesis 44:16
Question
Quick question
The steward searched every sack, one after another, before he found the cup.
In what order did the steward search the brothers’ sacks?
Judah Pleads for Benjamin
Then Judah approached Joseph and said, “Sir, please let your servant speak personally to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, for you are equal to Pharaoh himself.
So if the boy is not with us when I return to your servant, and if my father, whose life is wrapped up in the boy’s life, sees that the boy is not with us, he will die. Then your servants will have brought the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sheol in sorrow. Indeed, your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father, saying, ‘If I do not return him to you, I will bear the guilt before you, my father, all my life.’
Now please let your servant stay here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy. Let him return with his brothers. For how can I go back to my father without the boy? I could not bear to see the misery that would overwhelm him.”
0:13
Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain
Pray
In place of the boy
The man who once said, ‘Come, let us sell him,’ now says, “let your servant stay here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy.” God had been at work in Judah. Ask Him to do the same in you: to turn old selfishness into love that pays the cost for someone else, and to give you a heart that “could not bear to see the misery” of the people you love.
Now please let your servant stay here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy. Let him return with his brothers.
Genesis 44:33
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Genesis 44
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A verse to carry with you
Now please let your servant stay here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy. Let him return with his brothers.
Genesis 44:33
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