Pain Demonstration

Pain Demonstration

Genesis 44: And he commanded the steward of his house, 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. ² Also put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his grain money.” So he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. ³ As soon as the morning dawned, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys. ⁴ When they had gone out of the city, and were not yet far off, Joseph said to his steward, “Get up, follow the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? ⁵ Is not this the one from which my lord drinks, and with which he indeed practices divination? You have done evil in so doing.’ ”

 

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After the feast, Joseph had the steward of the house fill his brothers’ sacks with food and money again, just like last time. But this time he gave special instructions to add his silver cup to Benjamin’s sack. Joseph also staged a pretense with the steward of the house.

 

My Observations:

• Joseph had a plan to set up his brothers by making them look like thieves.
• Joseph may have wanted them to see how it felt to be in danger, or possibly killed.
• Joseph had no intention of harming his brothers, but may have wanted to let them know that what they did was not right.

 

Vengeance would have been easy for Joseph. He could have had them all thrown in prison for the rest of his life, but that is not what GOD wanted. Even through Joseph’s pain, he had GOD guiding him. He was working through this deep hurt, so he set his brothers up.

 

What would you do? I would probably do the same. Joseph missed out on being with his father for decades, due to their jealousy. His plan to make them feel embarrassed could not erase the cruelty they placed on him. Joseph also made it look like his power for seeing the future came from a cup. This would have been typical for an Egyptian as they worshipped inanimate objects.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD tell Moses about Joseph’s plan to embarrass his brothers?
• Have you ever been put in a spot where you could get revenge?
• Will you let go of getting revenge and allow GOD to take care of the situation HIS way and in HIS time?