Reading For Friday Genesis 43:1-15
For years, Jacob had only cared about Joseph. Then, for years, he had only cared about Benjamin. Jacob had even spoken as if he only had one son. When Jacob lost Joseph, he had only replaced him with another idol, namely Benjamin, and it seems that is why he was so determined not to send his sons to Egypt. The hunger is unrelenting, and the famine is so severe that Jacob finally realizes that another trip to Egypt was necessary. Judah reminds him that the Egyptian ruler had told them that Benjamin must accompany them upon their return. Judah offered to be the surety for his younger brother and bear the blame forever if anything happened to him.
God used famine to bring Jacob to the place that he was willing to let go of Benjamin. Either he could hold onto his idol and risk losing his whole family to starvation or he could let go of Benjamin and trust God for the results. Finally, Jacob relented and trusted God for the outcome.
It is interesting to note that there seems to be no mention of Simeon during this period of time with regard to his imprisonment. Having authorized the trip, Jacob ordered his sons to take double the money from the previous trip as well as some goods from Canaan, which were not affected by the famine. Here, he finally speaks of his children instead of a single favorite son. Perhaps Jacob is beginning to care for all his boys. Jacob wishes his sons Godspeed and sends them on their way in sorrow.
Thing To Consider:
- How should we understand the way God used the famine to send the brothers back to Egypt?
- Have you ever been paralyzed by things that happened in your past?
- Have you ever had to make a difficult choice that you did not want to make?
- What do you think the trip to Egypt was like for the brothers and what do you think they talked about?