Category: Genesis

Genesis 44:30-31 “So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father, and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy’s life, sees that the boy isn’t there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow.

Commentary talks about Judah offering himself as a substitutionary sacrifice. “Keep me as your servant instead of my brother.” He knows that Benjamin is the favored son of his father. He knows how hard Joseph’s “death” was on Jacob. He knows his role in the whole affair.

Genesis 44:32 Your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father. I said, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!’

He knows he bears great responsibility in Joseph’s fate. Instead of trying to weasel out, Judah steps up and offers himself in the place of Benjamin so that Jacob does not lose another favored son. Those actions are a far cry from the Judah of 22 years ago, suggesting they sell Joseph instead of killing him so there is no blood on their hands.

Genesis 44:33 “Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. 

Precious Savior, This idea of substitutionary sacrifice resonates deeply because it is what Your Son did for me–gave His life, His perfect, sinless life, in exchange for my sins. I did not deserve that sacrifice. I could never earn it. And yet, He freely gave His life for mine. I am humbled and grateful. Thank You. Amen.

Genesis 44:34 How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come on my father.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 44:27 “Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. 

I have to keep reminding myself that this Judah–the Judah who went along with his brothers’ ideas, who suggested instead of leaving his brother to rot in a well they sell him to the Egyptians, who lied to his father about the fate of his father’s favored son, regardless of the toll it took on the father–this Judah is the ancestor of Jesus.

Genesis 44:28 One of them went away from me, and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” And I have not seen him since. 

I’m reminded yet again that if God can take someone with a heart and a history like that and change him, He can do that for and with anyone. We are already seeing the evidence of Judah’s change: he put himself on the line as surety for Benjamin’s safety, he’s imploring Joseph to think of his father’s health (meaning that he’s thinking of it, too), he’s being honest and vulnerable.

Genesis 44:29 If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery.’

Precious Savior, I have so much on my mind at present. Maybe Genesis is about the fact that You can use imperfect people in Your kingdom work. Maybe it’s about the power of second chances. Maybe it’s about the fact that we are all capable of change, of becoming who God created us to be. Help me to love others as You love. Amen.

Genesis 44:30-31 “So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father, and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy’s life, sees that the boy isn’t there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 44:23 But you told your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’ 

I have been working my way through Genesis for the past ten months, and one thing that I have seen and marveled at again and again is the fact that God uses imperfect people. Somewhere in my child’s mind growing up, I decided that God only used perfect people and I am so very far from perfect that it is laughable, so He obviously can’t use me.

Genesis 44:24 When we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said.

Except that’s not true. Not a single one of the people God has called and used in Genesis is perfect. In fact, some of them have been eyebrow-raisingly, alarmingly imperfect. So what does that mean? God can use me, with my flawed humanity, my imperfect nature, my repeated missteps. He can and will and does use me in His kingdom work *if* I allow.

Genesis 44:25 “Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy a little more food.’ 

Precious Savior, Thank You. I know that I am not enough, not perfect, not sinless. But I also know that I don’t need to be because I am Your deeply, completely, fiercely, graciously loved child. Thank You that, even though I make mistakes daily, You can and will and do use me to shine Your light and point others to You. Amen.

Genesis 44:26 But we said, ‘We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother is with us will we go. We cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 44:15 Joseph said to them, “What is this you have done? Don’t you know that a man like me can find things out by divination?”

I am still struggling with whether this is a test set by Joseph that God uses or a test set by God, who instructs Joseph. It feels incredibly pointed, but Joseph gets the information he is after: His brothers have changed.

Genesis 44:16 “What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves—we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup.”

Twenty years ago, they sold him into slavery. Now, they have pledged to all be slaves, not just Benjamin, in whose bag the cup was found. These “middle-aged men…of relative privilege” (from commentary) put their fate in with the favored younger brother without a second thought.

Genesis 44:17 But Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do such a thing! Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back to your father in peace.”

Precious Savior, Thank You for this reminder that people can change. I can sometimes be quick to judge and slow to let go of a grudge. Forgive me. Help me to see others as You see them. Help me to give others (and myself) grace upon grace as we strive to become more like You. Amen.

Genesis 44:18 Then Judah went up to him and said: “Pardon your servant, my lord, let me speak a word to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, though you are equal to Pharaoh himself.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 44:11 Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. 

Instead of talking about the scripture today, I want to talk about the commentary I read each day along with the scripture. I’ll be honest. Sometimes I read scripture and have no clue what is going on. Sometimes I don’t understand why something is being emphasized. Reading commentary often helps me make sense of things.

Genesis 44:12 Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 

But you might remember that I said I intentionally read commentary that I don’t always agree with and sometimes vehemently disagree with. That’s to, hopefully, keep myself from the echo chamber effect of solidifying my beliefs because there is nothing to challenge them. I am also learning, really slowly, to sit with questions I don’t have answers to. That’s still really difficult for me.

Genesis 44:13 At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.

Precious Savior, Thank You for the process of reading, studying, and trying to understand Your word. Thank You that some days You reveal truths, some days You help me see prejudices, some days You leave me with questions so that I will continue to read, study, and seek You. Help me, every day, to draw closer to You and shine Your light. Amen.

Genesis 44:14 Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 44:6-7 When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them. But they said to him, “Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like that! 

One of the things that I tell my students often is that we don’t know what we don’t know. That mantra comes to mind as I read today’s scripture. The brothers don’t know that the Egyptian they have been dealing with is the brother they sold into slavery. They don’t know that he is testing them to be sure they have changed.

Genesis 44:8 We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found inside the mouths of our sacks. So why would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? 

When we act on what we think we know, not realizing what we don’t know, we leave ourselves open to folly, to mistakes. We act as though we have all the answers when what we have, typically, is partial information. What can we learn? What can we share? How can we grow?

Genesis 44:9 If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die; and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.”

Precious Savior, It’s easy to think that we have all the answers, that we know all we need to know to proceed confidently, but rarely is that the case. Help us to get better at communication, to approach situations from a standpoint of growth and learning instead of certainty. Help us to shine Your light and point others to You, Lord. Amen.

Genesis 44:10 “ Very well, then,” he said, “let it be as you say. Whoever is found to have it will become my slave; the rest of you will be free from blame.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 44:1 Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man’s silver in the mouth of his sack. 

Again, on its surface, this feels like just one more test by Joseph. However, at this point, I kind of see where he is coming from. Benjamin is the youngest, the favorite, the other child of his own mother. Joseph wants to be sure, one final test, that the brothers have changed their hearts.

Genesis 44:2 Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver for his grain.” And he did as Joseph said.

But how do we know that this is from God and not from Joseph. Commentary seems to imply that we just know, that Joseph has changed and now he is doing God’s will, not his own, so that’s how we know it’s from God. I can sort of see it. Sort of. It still feels like there is a lot of Joseph’s will in this situation.

Genesis 44:3 As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys. 

Precious Savior, As You can see, I’m bad at reading people, reading situations. As I can see, I clearly should not be casting judgment on others because I am bad at it. Help me to do what You have for me to do and not to do things that aren’t mine to do–like judging others in any way…their actions, their motives, their words. I am not qualified. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 44:4-5 They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, “Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil? Isn’t this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.’”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 43:31 After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself, said, “Serve the food.”

Commentary talks about this dinner, this seating arrangement, this favoritism of the youngest as a test crafted by Joseph to be sure his brothers’ hearts are truly changed. I still struggle with seeing it as some kind of payback on Joseph’s part. 

Genesis 43:32 They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, for that is detestable to Egyptians. 

I suspect my skepticism says more about me as a person than I would like. Trust is incredibly difficult for me. And once my trust is broken, it is extremely hard for me to feel that I can trust that person again. I feel like, perhaps, God is calling me on this issue yet again, reminding me to hand it over to Him.

Genesis 43:33 The men had been seated before him in the order of their ages, from the firstborn to the youngest; and they looked at each other in astonishment. 

Precious Savior, You know trust is hard for me. Forgive me that I take it to the levels that I do. Show me how to trust You and trust others and not leave myself open to being gutted by betrayal and cruelty. I know I still have work to do. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 43:34 When portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as anyone else’s. So they feasted and drank freely with him.

Have a blessed day. 

Genesis 43:27 He asked them how they were, and then he said, “How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still living?”

I want to say today’s scripture is part of the restoration process, part of getting to know his brothers again, but the issue with that theory is that Joseph still has not revealed himself. His brothers still don’t know who he is.

Genesis 43:28 They replied, “Your servant our father is still alive and well.” And they bowed down, prostrating themselves before him.

So what can God be teaching us here? I still think the ultimate lesson is restoration of relationships. It’s been many decades since the brothers’ betrayal. No one (at least in this day and age) would fault Joseph for holding on to his anger. But he can see the brothers have changed, and he chooses reconciliation.

Genesis 43:29 As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son, he asked, “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.”

Precious Savior, Thank You for showing me that sometimes reconciliation is possible. I can’t throw out a blanket statement. It may not be possible for all people and all situations. However, we see that the brothers’ hearts have changed. We see that Joseph’s heart has changed. Thank You for the hope in this narrative. Amen.

Genesis 43:30 Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there.

Have a blessed day.