A Lie of Protection

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.’ ”

 

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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?

Not Buying It

Not Buying It

Genesis 42: ³⁵ Then it happened as they emptied their sacks, that surprisingly each man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. ³⁶ And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are against me.”

 

³⁷ Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.”

 

³⁸ But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.”

 

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Joseph’s brothers came back from buying food with all their money in their sacks. When Jacob saw the money, he was filled with fear. The plan presented by his sons was to take Benjamin back to Egypt so Simeon could be released. Jacob refused.

 

My Observations:

• Jacob’s sons deceived him when they implied that Joseph was killed by an animal.
• Jacob’s sons had no plan to address the famine, so he had to tell them to go and buy food.
• Jacob’s sons came back with a story that sounded like they did something wrong and were trying to protect themselves from the consequence of their action.

 

It was clear to Jacob that his sons hated Joseph. He could see it in their interaction with Joseph that they had sibling rivalry. Jacob did not help the matter when he spent an enormous amount of time making a coat of many colors for Joseph. They lied about Joseph implying he was dead when they sold him into slavery. Now they were telling the truth, but Joseph wasn’t buying the story.

 

There did not seem like anything good would come out of the plan to take the remaining son of Rachel to Egypt. He refused to send Benjamin, leaving Simeon in jail or possibly he presumed him as dead. BUT GOD had this in the plan.

 

Challenge

• Why did GOD tell Moses about Jacob’s reaction to the found money and the plan to take Benjamin to Egypt?
• Have you ever tried to change and run into people who do not believe you are taking steps to a new you?
• Will you stick with the change GOD is making in you and not return to your old ways?