Genesis 43:16

New International Version

When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare a meal; they are to eat with me at noon.”

For Encouragement

The interrogation lasted three days with intensity. Assured that their father was alive, Joseph sent his brothers back to their country to bring his brother Benjamin as evidence to validate their story (Genesis 42:18-20). They returned to Egypt with Benjamin after a prolonged resistance from their father, who feared the worst because of how he lost Joseph (38).

Then, they presented themselves to Joseph (43:15)

When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare a meal; they are to eat with me at noon” (43:16).

On their previous visit, Joseph didn’t invite his brothers into his house for a meal, even though he recognized them (42:7). Their presence stirred emotional upheaval in him, and memories of their wickedness flooded his heart. He had carried the pain of Dothan for so long. How could he, for example, erase the memory of him pleading for his life as the Midianite caravan rolled off and faded away into the wilderness heat?

Today, I accompanied my son to the nursery with his two-year-old son for his second week. The boy started crying when we reached the school. My heart broke as my son handed him to the teachers. The face of the boy and his hands stretched back towards his dad said it all. Like saying, Please, Dad, do not leave me here. Dad, please, take me back home. 

I could still see his face and hear his wailing as we walked away and drove off.

As I write this message, I see the face of Joseph and his outstretched hands toward his brothers, pleading with them to take him back from the merchants as their caravan rolled away toward Egypt. Wicked and calloused hearts, his brothers could not care less, and nothing moved them to pity and compassion for their brother.

Is that not what we do to each other when we hate their guts or prospering ways—when they tell us the truth we do not want to hear?

But God had been good to Joseph by working all things together for his good and for the accomplishment of His [God’s] purpose and eternal plan (Romans 8:28). The favor of God and the outworking of His grace had shepherded him in Egypt. How bitter-sweet now to see Benjamin among his brothers in the land of his slavery that had blessed him. Like a collage of the story of his life, they overwhelmed him.

The only fitting response was a reception over a sumptuous Egyptian lunch in his house! Through Benjamin, the brothers had gained access to the home of the lord of the land, the brother they sold for twenty shekels of silver.

Do you see the imagery of Christ, whom we sold for thirty pieces of silver, giving us access to our Father in Heaven? When God sees the sinner through His son, He gives us access to his presence and to dine with Him (Romans 5:2; Ephesians 2:18).

Your membership and presence in the church is not what gives you access to the Most High. You have access to His throne of grace only because God sees His Son, Jesus, in you and you in Him (John 14:20) because of Calvary. Isn’t that a blessing?

So, why not give Him praise today, as you begin this week?