After many hard days of travel Joseph’s brothers finally returned home and told their father what had happened.
“The Governor of Egypt spoke roughly to us,” they said, “and thought we were spies. “Oh no,’ we told him. ‘we aren’t spies. We are honest men. We are twelve brothers, though one is dead, and the youngest is with our father in the land of Canaan.
Well I can find out easily enough whether you are telling me the truth, the governor said. “Leave one of your brothers here and take food for your families, and go get your youngest brother and bring him to me. Then I will know that you aren’t spies.
When they went out to unload their donkeys and empty the grain out of their sacks, can you imagine their surprise when each of them found his money at the top of the grain! When Jacob saw the money, he was afraid.
“You have already robbed me of two children.” He said, “for Joseph is gone and Simeon is gone. And now you want Benjamin too.
Then Reuben said to his father, “Kill my two sons’ if I don’t bring Benjamin back to you! I will take care of him.”
But Jacob said Benjamin couldn’t go. Joseph was already dead; and if anything happened to Benjamin, it would be too much to bear.
The famine became worse and worse. Soon the grain brought from Egypt was almost gone and Jacob said to his sons, “Go back to Egypt again, and buy us a little more food.
But Judah told his father they couldn’t go unless Benjamin was with them: for the governor had told them, “You must not return without your brother.
“But why did you tell him you had another brother. Jacob cried out.
“The man asked us,” They replied.
“He said, is your father still living? “Have you another brother? How could we have known he would say that? You must bring your brother here?
Then Judah told his father he would take care of Benjamin.
“I’ll see that nothing happens to him.” Judah said, “and if I don’t bring him home safely back again, then I will Bear the blame forever. If we had not stayed home so long, we could have gone to Egypt and been back by now.”
{When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. They said, “The man who is LORD over the land spoke harshly to us and treated us as though we were spying on the land. But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. We were twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in Canaan.’ “Then the man who is LORD over the land said to us, ‘This is how I will know whether you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take food for your starving households and go. But bring your youngest brother to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the land.'” Genesis 42:29-34}
Finally their father agreed. He told his son’s to take a present to the Governor.
“Take some honey, spices and myrrh, and nuts, and almonds. Take extra money with you, along with the money that came back in your sacks before; perhaps it was a mistake. And take your brother, and go.”
Then Jacob prayed for his sons and begged God to make the Governor kind to them; for if his children were taken away from him, he would die with sorrow.
The brothers took the presents, and the money, and their brother Benjamin and went back to Egypt. Soon Joseph saw them standing before him again.
When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his servants, “Take these men home to my house and get dinner ready for them, for they are going to eatwith me.”
Joseph’s brothers were frightened when they saw where the servant was taking them. They thought Joseph was going to keep them as his slaves and never let them go home again. They thought it was because of the money they found in their sacks.
They went to Joseph’s servant and told him all that had happened: that when they were going home to Canaan, they had opened their sacks and found their money there. But they hadn’t stole it, and now they had brought it back again.
Joseph’s servant told them not to worry, there was nothing to fear. He brought their brother Simeon to them, the one who had been left as a prisoner while they went home for Benjamin.
The servant gave them water to wash their feet and hay for their donkeys. Then they got out the present their father had sent to the Governor, to give it to him when he came home at noon, for now they knew they were toeat there.
When Joseph arrived, they brought his present to him and bowed low before him.
He spoke kindly to them and said, “Is your father well, the old man you told me about? Is he still living?
They answered, “Yes, he is in good health, he is still alive.” And they bowed to him again.
Then Joseph saw his brother Benjamin and said, “Is this your youngest brother you told me about? May God be good to you, my son.”
Then Joseph hurried away to find a place where he could be alone. He went into his bedroom and started crying because he was so happy at seeing his little brother again. But then he washed his face, and when he came out again he kept back the tears so that his brothersdidn’t know what he had been doing!
Then they all sat down to eat. Joseph ate by himself at one table, and his brothers were at another table; for Egyptians never ate with Hebrews; and everyone thought Joseph was an Egyptian!
Joseph seated the oldest brother at the head of the table, with the next oldest next to him, and so on down the line according to their ages. Who could have told him their ages, they wondered! But you and I know that no one had to tell him, for he knew it all the time!
Joseph served all the food from his table, and waiters took it over to the table where the brothers were. He gave Benjamin more than the others because he and Benjamin had the same mother, Rachel, who died when Benjamin was born. {All the other brothers had the same father, Jacob, but there were four different mothers.}
Questions:
What did Joseph’s brothers tell their father?
Why did they have to take Benjamin to Egypt?
Would their father let Benjamin go?
Why did Jacob send presents to the Governor?
Did he know it was Joseph?
For whom did Joseph tell his servants to prepare dinner?
Why were Joseph’s brothers frightened?
How do you know?
Do you know why he loved him best?
"Only Life Changes" 