Read Genesis 44
A Silver Cup in a Sack
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. 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.
3 As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys.4 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? 5 Isn’t this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.’”
6 When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them. 7 But they said to him, “Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like that! 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? 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.”
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.”
11 Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it.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. 13 At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.
14 Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him. 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?”
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.”
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.”
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. 19 My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ 20 And we answered, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young son born to him in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’
21 “Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so I can see him for myself.’ 22 And we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father; if he leaves him, his father will die.’ 23 But you told your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’24 When we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said.
25 “Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy a little more food.’ 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.’
27 “Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. 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. 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.’
30 “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, 31 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. 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!’
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. 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.”
Go Deeper
This is what the best movie scenes are made of. Joseph has framed his brothers and set them up in an eerily similar scenario to 20 years prior. He’s testing them to see if they will abandon Benjamin the same way they did him. The brothers are so sure of their innocence that they offer anyone who is found guilty to be put to death. Can you imagine the suspense as each of them open their sacks one by one, from oldest to youngest? And then as Benjamin lays open his sack, the silver cup topples out!
The brothers immediately responded by tearing their clothes, an ancient tradition associated with mourning, loss, and grief. This was the same response that Jacob had just seven chapters earlier when they showed him Joseph’s bloody robe. This action reveals to us that the hearts of these brothers have changed. Before, they were cold-hearted, greedy men who sold their own flesh and blood into slavery with no regrets. Now, we see them displaying the same grief and mourning as their father, in anticipation of returning home without a beloved brother.
The plot thickens as they return to Egypt for Joseph to decide their fate. The scene is perfectly set for betrayal, as Joseph gives the brothers an opportunity to leave Benjamin in captivity and escape home. Then, Judah steps forward and gives a heartfelt plea to Joseph that ends with “Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my Lord and let the boy go back with his brothers” (v. 33). Judah, the same brother who came up with the idea to sell Joseph into slavery in the first place, has had his heart changed by God. Now he humbly stands before Joseph, not only asking for mercy, but also offering his own life as a ransom for the crime his younger brother has been accused of.
God moved Judah to a place of repentance and complete life change. He also used it to foreshadow what Jesus would do in the New Testament for all mankind. We can all be encouraged by how Judah’s life turned around. God used him in that moment, kneeling before Joseph, but his faithfulness will be remembered for all of eternity, as the Messiah will be born almost 2,000 years later directly from the line of Judah.
Questions
Judah makes known to Joseph what has been revealed in his heart. Are you making it a regular practice to confess to other believers sin that has been revealed in your own heart?
Is there anyone that you need to show grace or mercy to, as Joseph showed to his brothers?
This story is a great reminder that people can change. If you have been wounded, you can always proceed with caution, but Judah is a prime example of a hardened heart that was changed by God. Is there anyone in your life you need to pray for, to move towards forgiveness and restitution?
Did You Know?
David Guzik in his Enduring Word commentary says the following about this chapter:
“Through this chapter, there is remarkable evidence of the changed hearts of Joseph’s brothers.
· They did not resent it when Benjamin was given the favored portion (Genesis 43:34).
· They trusted each other, not accusing each other of wrong when accused of stealing the cup (Genesis 44:9).
· They stuck together when the silver cup was found. They did not abandon the favored son and allow him to be carried back to Egypt alone (Genesis 44:13).
· They completely humbled themselves for the sake of the favored son (Genesis 44:14).
· They knew their predicament was the result of their sin against Joseph (Genesis 44:16).
· They offered themselves as slaves to Egypt, not abandoning Benjamin, the favored son, their brother (Genesis 44:16).
· They showed due concern for how this might affect their father (Genesis 44:29-31).
· Judah was willing to be a substitutionary sacrifice for his brother out of love for his father and his brethren (Genesis 44:33).”
6 thoughts on “Genesis 44”
Judah’s example is so encouraging of how God can change a person. This is the elder brother, filled with jealousy and spite and hatred, who plotted and lied to essentially kill Joseph and influenced others to the same. Now, he is filled with love and care and responsibility, offering himself as a sacrifice for the brother most favored by their father. What a transformation! See what God can do! We can trust He is able to change the hearts of those that seem beyond all hope.
🙏🏼 Amen
What can we learn?
God can make all things new. Isaiah 43:19 “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” When we make a mess, God can make it a message. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13 ESV. Laying down your life can look like standing in the gap for someone who is struggling with their own beileving at the momemt. Psalm 106:23 “So he declared he would destroy them. But Moses, his chosen one, stepped between the Lord and the people. He begged him to turn from his anger and not destroy them” (NLT). BUT GOD Romans 8:34 “Christ Jesus…who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Christ Jesus stands in the gap for us NOW.
“Give me a man of God,
one man whose faith is master of his mind
And I will right ten thousand wrongs
And bless the name of all mankind.
Give me a man of God, one man,
Whose tongue is touched with heavens fire
And I will flame the darkest hearts
With high resolve and pure desire.
Give me a man of God, one man,
One mighty prophet of the Lord,
And I will give you peace on earth
Bought with prayer and not a sword.
Give me a man of God, one man,
True to the vision that he sees
And I will build your broken shrines
And bring the nations to their knees.
One man.”
Daniel Nash
God let me be a warrior, standing in the gap for others. Help me to stand in the gap with good scripture to direct them to, when they are struggling. God I have a sister in Christ who is struggling hard. Give her peace, rest and with Your Holy Spirit guidance, help me to give her scripture directions to You. God thank You for prayer. Thank You that Your answer book is just finger tips away. God thank You for these minutes of this day to love on people in my path, to hear with listening ears, to see with Your love goggles, and have words that come from You. God let me be salt and light in these minutes of this day in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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. “
Yes, amazing how the hearts of the brothers have changed so dramatically from their earlier envy-driven days when they sold Joseph into slavery. Also, I find it crazy that none of them seem to suspect it is Joseph!
“Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.” These lyrics mirror the posture of my heart to a sovereign God who both pursues, rescues and never gives up on lavishing his goodness and mercy on us. The very one who leaves the 99 to find the 1 lost sheep. I’m undone, ravished in the best kind of way by his unconditional love, for I’ve been a Judah who has been redeemed by his matchless grace.
It’s amazing to see the transformation in Judah’s life. His plea for his family and brother is remarkable. This gives me hope that God can still change hearts radically today. Like God has done here in these brothers’ stories but also in mine. God, do it again! Continue to move and change hearts. We want to see your miraculous work before our own eyes!