Then he commanded his house steward, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack. And put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his money for the grain.” And he did as Joseph had told him. As soon as it was light, the men were sent away, they with their donkeys.
From the end of the previous chapter, we know that by the time the meal Joseph had hosted for his visitors in his house was over, he knew the men much better. He had likely determined that they indeed had changed their ways from the days that they had sold him to a band of traveling merchants to be a slave in Egypt. But Joseph had one more final test for his brothers, a test that was calculated to give a clear picture of their inner hearts.
It is most likely that the instructions to the house steward as recorded here were given in private while the guests ate or soon thereafter. We also noted that they were to get “as much as they could carry” versus perhaps what would be the standard amount for what their money would have purchased.
But the significant difference from the normal transactions is that Joseph wanted his servant to put his very own silver cup in the mouth of Benjamin’s sack. Getting their money back was one thing, but getting the ruler’s drinking cup was another. Assuming of course that they were given these. What if it was believed they stole them?
If we read the last sentence of Chapter 43 “So they feasted and drank freely with him” followed immediately by the last sentence of Chapter 44, verse 3, “As soon as it was light, the men were sent away, they with their donkeys,” it is possible to believe that the feast with Joseph went on all night, with very little sleep having taken place. But as soon as the morning came, they were indeed ushered on their way, along with their animals packed with their sacks and what Joseph had his servants include. Joseph was anxious to implement the rest of his plan for his brothers and his father – perhaps a plan that God had put in his heart for their own good and as part of the fulfillment of His own “divine plan”.
Is there a message here for us? Yes. As we live our lives each day, we should be aware that God is ultimately in control. Men today may certainly be planning just “one more test for us”, but as God’s children, we can be comforted by the fact that He allows that test and it just may well be part of His divine plan. In addition, we are privileged to have a small part in that very plan of God’s. Whatever challenge or trial you are going through today, know that God is there also and if He’s not behind it, He certainly has allowed it and He is able to use it for His glory.
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Accord Consulting.
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