Joseph—a brother’s heart
Before we dig into Joseph’s third and final test of his older brothers, let’s dig into the less obvious test.
Test #2
Last time on Choosing Peace, Joseph hosted a feast for his brothers. They didn’t have a clue who he was. They ate and drank together in Joseph’s home, along with Joseph’s servants and friends—each group at a separate table, with Joseph sitting alone at the master’s table. I ended part 10 referring to the feast as Test #2. What aspect of Joseph’s meal with his brothers was a test?
The observer
Joseph displayed hospitality and generosity to his brothers—in stark contrast to their first meeting—when he spoke harshly to them, accused them of being spies, imprisoned them for three days, and then imprisoned Simeon pending their return with Benjamin.
At the noon-time feast, Benjamin was given five times as much food as each of his brothers. Joseph could observe how his brothers responded to this obvious favoritism. He could observe what they did and hear what they said while they were eating, drinking and letting their guard down. The Bible tells us they became drunk.
During Joseph’s first encounter with his brothers in Egypt, he got to see how they conducted themselves in a situation of duress. Now he got to see how they acted when they were relieved and relaxed. Feasting in a foreign land in a posh home during a famine—hosted by Pharaoh’s right-hand man who had scared them senseless last time—would have been quite surreal for Joseph’s brothers on many counts.
I wonder…
What did Joseph learn about them during Test #2? Remember, Joseph’s brothers thought he couldn’t understand a word they were saying. Joseph communicated with them using an interpreter. I wonder what they said. How did Joseph’s brothers interact with Benjamin? Were there any red flags? Were teams or alliances revealed?
Reverent submission
We don’t know the details, but we can be assured that the Lord was guiding Joseph, who was paying close attention. He was wise and righteous.
Joseph lived in reverent submission to the Lord.
Joseph’s words and impact
Reflect on these examples.
1. Joseph called out the wickedness of Potiphar’s wife and refused to “sin against God.”
2. Joseph gave God credit for dream interpretations twice: in prison and to Pharaoh.
3. In response to Joseph, Pharaoh acknowledged God and the Spirit of God.
4. The names Joseph chose for his sons gave glory to God—for emotional healing and provision.
5. After releasing his brothers from prison, Joseph said: “Do what I say, and live, for I fear God” ~ Genesis 42:18b, NHEB.
6. Joseph’s steward said to Joseph’s brothers: “Peace to you…. Your God and the God of your father…” ~ Genesis 43:23, NHEB. Was the steward a Hebrew who grew up knowing Yahweh—the Lord? Or did Joseph teach him about God?
7. When Joseph saw Benjamin, he said: “God be gracious to you, my son” ~ Genesis 43:29b, NHEB.
Testifying
The truth, power and goodness of God were on Joseph lips. He testified to who God was—freely and frequently. Do we? Do we give God the glory? Do we speak his name? Do we praise him? Do we pray to him for and with our loved ones?
Praying
During challenging times, our prayers can become intensified in frequency, duration and/or fervor. This intensifying is a great thing. It builds our reliance on God, our posture of humility, and our faith. We lean in to The Almighty. We see our need for him more clearly.
Knitted together
Ten days ago, I was blessed to visit my new mom, precious 90-year-old Kathleen, recovering from pneumonia in a rehab facility. Toward the end of our time together, I asked her how I could pray for her. She became teary-eyed as she began to share her third request. I held her little hand and prayed out loud for her. She was so grateful. Prayer knits hearts together in the most beautiful way.
The prayer time in our life group at church has definitely knitted our hearts together. We know we have the family of God lifting us up in prayer. And we see the power of God in response to those prayers as we celebrate answered prayers together. For more about the power of prayer, read The Prayer posts.
That reminds me of this sweet hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” especially these words: Take it to the Lord in prayer.
The right posture: First cabinet meeting
Thankfully, we see a posture of submission to God in the leaders of our country. President Trump’s first cabinet meeting was opened in prayer. And we can hear that prayer and watch the cabinet with their heads bowed in reverence. Be blessed by this 6-minute Charlie Kirk podcast, which ends with Charlie’s wise advice: “Start all important things in prayer.” Amen, amen and amen. (Pssst. Here’s a tip from Yours Truly: Every day is important.) Thank you, Charlie Kirk, for your amazing work for God and We The People.
Your turn
Do you need to sit down, hold someone’s hand, and pray out loud together? Does someone need to hear your voice praying for him or her—in person or on the phone? Who can you ask, “How can I pray for you?” My friend Meagan helped make this question a part of my life. Thanks be to God for the beautiful gifts of loved ones and prayer.
The third and final test
The set-up
Joseph told his steward to load his brothers’ sacks with as much grain as they could carry and all the silver they brought with them. He also told his steward to put Joseph’s silver cup at the top of Benjamin’s sack, so he did.
The day after the feast at Joseph’s home—Test #2—his brothers were sent on their way back to Canaan. After they left, Joseph sent his steward to confront them with the false accusation about stealing Joseph’s silver cup.
Joseph said to his manager, “Up, go after the men, and when you overtake them, ask them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? Why have you stolen my silver cup? Isn’t it from this that my lord drinks and by which he indeed uses for divination? You have done evil in doing this.’” And he caught up with them and spoke these words to them.
Genesis 44:4b-6, New Heart English Bible
The value and the offer
Why the part about divination? We know Joseph would never participate in the occult or witchcraft. Was divination commonly practiced in Egypt? Yes. Did identifying the silver cup as both a personal and religious item up its value and significance? Definitely. (See this GotQuestions.org article for more.) From what I’ve learned about Joseph while writing The Gift of the Bible, this claim about divination was an important part of Test #3—the third and final test of Joseph’s brothers. Claiming that the cup was used in divination in no way indicated that Joseph had a divided heart—serving both God and dark forces. No way. Describing the silver cup as both a personal and religious item ratcheted up the fear factor for his brothers exponentially. And that was the point.
Joseph’s brothers were shocked by the accusation. “With whomever of your servants it is found, he must die, and we also will be my lord’s slaves” ~ Genesis 44:9, NHEB. They were so certain that this couldn’t have occurred that they offered the death penalty for one of their own and permanent slavery for the rest of them. That’s quite an offer. Very bold—and catastrophically serious.
Our turn
Have we also spoken rashly? Assuredly? Without thinking? Made promises not kept? It’s easy to dog-out Joseph’s brothers until we seriously conduct a thorough self-assessment. (That’s not so fun, is it. Indeed not.)
The night when I typed those questions, as I was trying to go to sleep, the Holy Spirit reminded me of a disturbing example from my own life. When I was in my early 20s, my college boyfriend and I broke up. We were both very sad about it. We sat in his car and talked flippantly about committing suicide together by taking rat poison. Then we said, “Naaaah.” Mercy.
Close your eyes and think about a time when you spoke rashly, in a way that surprises you now, in retrospect.
Counter-offers
How did Joseph’s steward respond to the pledge or offer made by Joseph’s brothers? He softened the consequences—slavery for the guilty party, with the others going free. Obviously, the steward found the silver cup in Benjamin’s sack. Joseph’s brothers were devastated. “Then they tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey and returned to the city” ~ Genesis 44:13, NHEB. Tearing one’s clothes indicated anguish and mourning. Read this excellent Got Questions article for more.
Joseph’s brother Judah steps into the forefront of the biblical account at this point. Judah told Joseph that he offered his life as a pledge for Benjamin’s safe return to their father, so he offered himself as a servant to Joseph in Benjamin’s place. He said, basically, “Take me instead. The loss of Benjamin would break our father’s heart. Take me.”
Two brothers—compare and contrast
The first-born son, Reuben
In the life of Joseph, we’ve learned some things about his three oldest brothers—Reuben, Simeon and Levi.
Violent
We think of Reuben as a good guy compared to Simeon and Levi—the mass murderers; but here’s a piece of the Sin Lists from part 1:
Incest and atrocious disrespect—Reuben and Bilhah
♦ Reuben had sex with his father’s concubine—the mother of two of his brothers.
♦ (Given the times, Reuben probably forced himself on her.)
♦ Jacob—now called Israel—heard about it.
(Genesis 35:22)
Power
Before Joseph was sold into slavery, when Reuben was 23 or younger, he had sex with Rachel’s servant Bilhah, who was also his father’s concubine—the mother of two of his brothers. That is gross. Would Bilhah have willingly participated in such a thing? Highly unlikely. It would be like having sex with one of her stepsons. And, being a servant, she could be cast out of the family permanently for such behavior if it were consensual. We can do the math here, Peaceful Readers. Reuben had the power. He physically overpowered Bilhah and he possessed permanent family status. Bilhah had no power or status. She was a servant.
Remembered
At the end of the last post, in the Coming Next section, I wrote: “Joseph’s third and final test of his brothers—Test #3—will reveal the ultimate truth. Did some of Joseph’s older brothers truly change? Joseph remembered them all these years as impulsive, violent, hateful young men in their teens and early 20s. Who were they now?”
Reuben, The Rapist certainly fits that description—impulsive, violent and hateful. The consequences for attacking Bilhah were life-long. Raping his father’s concubine broke all trust. It fractured Reuben’s relationship with his father, whatever it may have been before that. Reuben burned that bridge to the ground. What Reuben did was so egregious. It was a vicious attack on Bilhah and on Jacob/Israel (and their sons). Such an attack would not be forgotten. Jacob’s final words to Reuben confirm this.
No deal
In the current chapter of their lives, Reuben offered his two sons as a sacrifice and guarantee for the promised return of Benjamin from Trip #2 to Egypt. What did Reuben actually say? “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him to you” ~ Genesis 42:37b, NHEB. That’s a disturbing offer, to say the least. Jacob/Israel said no. He would not make a deal with Reuben, The Rapist.
The fourth son, Judah
Israel said no to Reuben’s offer. Later, when Judah offered himself, their father said yes. Why?
Who was Judah—the fourth son born to Jacob’s wife Leah? Let’s step back in time. What was his role in Joseph being sold into slavery?
Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, and let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay a hand on him, for he is our brother, our flesh.” And his brothers agreed.
Genesis 37:26-27, New Heart English Bible
The deal-maker
Judah said it first—“Let’s sell him.” Judah sounds like a deal-maker. “What profit is it…?” The merchants were passing by on their camels and Judah thought about the money. His brothers agreed with him, and the rest is history.
What Judah did was impulsive, violent and hateful. He played Let’s Make A Deal with his brother’s life. Slavery and trafficking are always exceedingly violent. (See Violence or Current Events in the index.) Joseph referred to being sold into slavery as “kidnapping,” even though the money was exchanged up front. In the next book of the Old Testament, kidnapping was declared to be a capital offense—and rightly so.
Evil sons
In chapter 37 of Genesis, Joseph was sold into slavery. Chapter 38 tells us Judah’s Story. He left home and married a Canaanite woman, and they had three sons. Their first two sons were so evil that God took their lives.
Let’s step way back in time very briefly. In chapter 4 of Genesis, the first murder took place. When Cain killed his brother Abel due to jealousy, God protected Cain from being murdered by others. Needless to say, God dealt rightly with Cain—in protecting him, and with Judah’s first two sons—in taking them out. God knew all the facts. And the future.
What kind of father was Judah? How did Judah respond to his sons’ deaths? We don’t have the foggiest idea.
Tamar—mother of the line
Judah’s first son, Er, married Tamar. After Er died, Tamar was given to Judah’s second son, Onan, as his wife. After Onan’s death, Judah promised Tamar that she would be given to his third son, Shelah, when he grew up. In the meantime, Tamar would live as a widow with her father. After Shelah grew up, Judah forsook his promise and failed to give Tamar to Shelah. Tamar had no children.
After Judah’s wife died, he hired a prostitute, not realizing that it was Tamar, who’d disguised herself. For payment, Judah gave her his signet, cord and staff, pending the delivery of a goat, but she couldn’t be found later.
Now it happened about three months later that Judah was told, saying, “Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has turned to prostitution, and now, look, she is pregnant by prostitution.” Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.” When she was brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, saying, “By the man who owns these I am pregnant.” She also said, “Please discern whose these are—the signet, and the cord, and the staff.” Then Judah recognized them, and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” He did not sleep with her again.
Genesis 38:24-26, New Heart English Bible
Tamar gave birth to twin boys, Perez and Zerah.
After evil, after deaths, after a serious promise broken, after deception, and as a result of prostitution, Judah’s line continued through his daughter-in-law Tamar.
King David and Jesus came from the line of Judah and Tamar,
descended from their twin son, Perez.
Twists and turns
Needless to say, after selling Joseph into slavery, Judah’s life took many twists and turns. He left home, married a woman outside his faith, and they had three sons. After his first two sons became adults, God took them out due to their evil. Judah buried two adult sons. Then his wife died. He had sex with a temple prostitute who was actually his daughter-in-law, who had disguised herself.
After many years away, Judah returned home after the incident with Tamar—Judah’s turning point. When he heard that she was pregnant from prostitution, he said: “Burn her to death.” When it was made clear that he was the father—someone who also participated in prostitution—he acknowledged the truth: “She is more righteous than I [am]” ~ Genesis 38:26b, NHEB.
The Lord used the many difficulties and losses in Judah’s life
to humble him and bring him to repentance.
This piece of Judah’s story reminds me of an important passage: Romans 2:1-4.
Because Judah was humble and contrite, he was ready to display godly leadership.
The protector
The next time we meet Judah, he offered to protect his youngest brother, Benjamin, to and from their trip to Egypt, where they went to buy food during the severe famine (and to retrieve their brother Simeon from prison). Two years into the seven-year famine, Joseph was 39 years old. His older brothers were in their 40s. Joseph’s silver cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. In stark contrast to Reuben’s offer—“Kill my sons,” Judah offered himself as a slave.
The truth-speaker
Judah—the brother who recommended selling Joseph, his father’s favorite son, into slavery—now offered himself into slavery to protect his father’s new favorite son. Judah was a new man. His life had come full circle. He was now the spokesman for the brothers as they returned to see Joseph.
[They] fell to the ground before him. And Joseph said to them, “What is this deed that you have done?” Then Judah said, “What can we say to my lord? …God has uncovered the guilt of your servants.”
Genesis 44:14b, 15a, 16a and c, New Heart English Bible
Humility
Judah didn’t say, “Benjamin is guilty.” He said, “We are guilty.” Notice his reference to God here. God has uncovered the guilt of your servants (v. 44:16c). Judah deferred to God. And he also deferred to Joseph when he described all of the brothers as “your servants.” Judah offered all the brothers into slavery under Joseph, but Joseph said, basically: “Only the guilty party will be punished. The rest of you can go home.”
Then Judah approached [Joseph], and said, “My lord, please allow your servant to speak a word in the ears of my lord, and do not become angry with your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself.”
Genesis 44:18, New Heart English Bible
Telling the story
Judah told Joseph the family story. His words revealed so much.
The favorite
We said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother; and his father loves him.’
Genesis 44:20, World English Bible
Remember from part 10: Benjamin was in his upper 20s to early 30s at this time. He wasn’t in any way, shape or form “a little one.” Nor was he “a child of [Jacob’s] old age,” as if his older brothers weren’t also. Those were big-time lies borne from the sin of parental favoritism. Judah wasn’t stupid. He knew that his father referred to Benjamin this way because he loved him. And that was the key point of this verse: “His father loves him.” Judah was mature enough and healed enough to tell this very personal story to a virtual stranger. “Benjamin is Dad’s favorite.”
The lie
Also, Judah revealed the lie that everyone had been telling about Joseph all these years: “He’s dead.” See the section called The Replacement Story in part 9 to explore the mental gymnastics of this common coping mechanism. It goes like this: “The pain of the truth is too much for me to deal with, so I re-wrote the story to make myself feel better.”
Have you ever done that? I sure have. Lean in to the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Healing comes from the truth.
The wife
Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. And the one disappeared from me, and I said, “Surely he is torn in pieces.” And I haven’t seen him since. If you take this one also from me, and harm happens to him, you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.’
Genesis 44:27-29, New Heart English Bible
Their father Jacob referred to Rachel as “my wife”—as in, “my one and only wife, my real wife, the one I wanted.” What about Rachel’s sister Leah—the one Jacob was tricked into marrying? Wasn’t she also his wife—the one who gave him six sons and a daughter? She was Jacob’s wife religiously-speaking, societally-speaking and technically-speaking, but not in his heart. And his sons knew that. Leah certainly knew the truth. I suspect everyone knew it.
“The boy”
So now, when I come to your servant my father and the boy is not with us, since his life is bound up in the boy’s life, it will happen, when he sees that the boy is not with us, that he will die. Your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. For your servant became collateral for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him to you, then I will bear the blame to my father forever.’ So now, please let your servant remain instead of the boy, a slave to my lord, and let the boy go up with his brothers. For how will I go up to my father if the boy isn’t with me? I could not bear to see the misery that would come on my father.”
Genesis 44:30-34, New Heart English Bible
In these five verses, Judah called Benjamin “the boy” seven times. Golly. (I will not beat that dead horse again.) Parents speak in certain ways and certainly influence their children.
A brother’s heart
The final sentence in the passage above reveals Judah’s heart. “I could not bear to see the misery that would come on my father” (v. 34b). Judah had seen that misery before—after they sold Joseph into slavery and convinced their father that he was dead. After the brothers did what Judah suggested. Yes—Judah bore a heavier weight of guilt. Selling Joseph into slavery was his idea. (Or was it? More on that next time.)
For 22 long years, Jacob thought his favorite son was dead. It was terrible. The mourning and anguish went on and on. Losing Joseph changed him.
And Judah buried two sons. All his hopes that they would change were buried with them.
Judah’s words revealed the reality of his remorse for what he did to Joseph and their father, Jacob/Israel. Judah would do any honorable thing to avoid causing his father that kind of pain again.
Judah was truly a changed man.
All glory to God.
Coming next: How did Joseph respond to the new Judah? What did he do or say in response to that remarkable, humble, sacrificial speech? Come back next time for more of the beautiful unfolding of Joseph’s life story—the story of the 12 brothers who became the patriarchs of the nation of Israel.
Until next time, thanks for reading and for Choosing Peace.
Truth from The Word: Ezekiel 36:24-28
Song: “Christ Our Wisdom” by Sovereign Grace Music
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