A Lie of Protection
Genesis 43: Now the famine was severe in
the land. 2 And it came to pass, when they had
eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to
them, “Go back, buy us a little food.”
3 But Judah spoke to him, saying,
“The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless
your brother is with you.’ 4 If
you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 5 But
if you will not send him, we will not go down; for the man
said to us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with
you.’ ”
============
Somewhere in the middle of the seven years of famine, Jacob
and his family ate up all the food that was purchased from Egypt. Jacob said
“Go back and buy us a little food.” But Judah spoke up and told Jacob that they
could not return to Egypt without Benjamin. But he did not tell him they could
be killed.
My Observations:
- GOD
said the famine would happen for seven years and it was difficult for everyone.
- Jacob
was getting humble in his request by asking to buy a “little” food.
- Judah
stretched the truth again, possibly wanting to protect Jacob from the
truth that they could all be killed, according to what Joseph really said.
Talk about being in a bad situation! The brothers knew they
needed to bring Benjamin back, but they also knew that if they told Jacob the
truth, he would not let them take Benjamin. They needed to eat, so they
stretched the truth.
They had to convince Jacob that everything would be alright
with Benjamin if he traveled to Egypt. By now, Simeon had been in prison for
months. Nine brothers had to carry enough food to feed all of the family,
servants, herders and animals. If they came with too many people, it would look
like they were trying to raid Egypt. Judah lied to protect Jacob from worry. He
did not know if he would be killed or not.
Challenge’
- Why
does GOD tell Moses about the conversation between Jacob and Judah?
- Have
you ever felt you needed to stretch the truth to protect someone else’s
feelings?
- Can
you ask GOD for courage to practice telling the whole truth, no matter how
difficult it can be?
No comments:
Post a Comment