PART 5 – EXPLORING THE EMOTIONS
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Chapter 26 - RECONCILED! (Joseph episode 10)
We continue to explore the emotional roller-coaster experienced by Joseph’s brothers during their visits to Egypt. This episode contains a number of different scenes, which vary considerably in their emotional ups and downs, so I will deal with this part of the story one scene at a time.
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Scene 1: BACK TO EGYPT (from Genesis 43:1-15)
The famine continued to affect the land of Canaan very severely, and after some time the grain which the brothers had brought from Egypt was almost gone. So Jacob said to his sons,
"Go back to Egypt and buy us some more food."
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Judah said to his father,
"You know, the man in charge was serious when he warned us, 'You won't be welcome back here unless your brother is with you.' We can’t go back again unless we take Benjamin with us."
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Jacob was very upset.
“Why did you go and tell him you had another brother?"
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Judah assured him,
"Put the boy under my care. I will guarantee his safety. If I don't bring him back to you safe and sound then you may hold me personally responsible."
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Finally, reluctantly, Jacob agreed.
“If there’s really no other way, then go ahead. But at least let’s do what we can to make sure everything works out well. Take as many gifts as you can to present to the man in charge – aromatic spices, honey, pistachio nuts and almonds. And take double the amount of money that you found in your sacks, although you may well find it was all a mistake.
And take Benjamin with you, if you must. May God Almighty be with you and be merciful to you as you return to face this man once again. I pray that he will release Simeon from prison, and that you will return safely with both Simeon and Benjamin. But if I have to lose them too, then so be it!”
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So Joseph’s brothers loaded their donkeys with gifts, and took double the money to pay for the grain they had already received as well as the grain they needed to buy on this trip, and headed off for Egypt with Benjamin in tow.
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The main players in this scene are Judah and Jacob, with Judah managing to persuade his father to let them take Benjamin back to Egypt on their next visit. The conversation between the two of them tells us a lot about their relationship, their attitude towards one another, and their expectations for the future.
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Let’s start with Judah. First, remember that Reuben previously attempted to persuade Jacob to let him act as a guarantor for Benjamin’s life, but Jacob refused. Reuben promised his father:
"I will be responsible for Benjamin, and I promise to bring him back safely. You may kill my two sons if I don't bring him back to you.”
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Now Judah promises to act as guarantor, and Judah’s promise is reluctantly accepted.
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How is Judah’s offer of guarantee for Benjamin different from Reuben’s?
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Why should Jacob accept Judah’s offer when he had previously refused Reuben’s?
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After Joseph’s betrayal, Judah had abandoned his family, and spent many years living in Canaanite society and with a Canaanite wife, before returning home with Tamar and their two sons. You might
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expect this experience to have had a negative effect on the relationship between Jacob and Judah, but it seems the opposite is true. How could we account for Jacob’s willingness to trust Judah with the responsibility for Benjamin’s welfare?
And what do we learn from this conversation regarding Jacob’s attitude? We know from the previous episode that the idea of sending Benjamin off to Egypt with his brothers is the very last thing Jacob wants to do.
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What has made Jacob willing to change his mind?
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Jacob’s final remark, then so be it!” may sound a little fatalistic, but I would suggest this is misleading. It seems to me that Jacob is…
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trusting Benjamin to Judah’s care
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trusting in God’s mercy, and
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taking whatever steps he can to minimise the risks.
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What evidence do you see for these assumptions?
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How does Jacob’s relationship with God affect his decision?
So Judah and the rest of Joseph’s brothers set off for Egypt the second time, this time with Benjamin as well.
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Scene 2: IN JOSEPH’S PALACE (from Genesis 43:16-34)
When the brothers arrived in Egypt they presented themselves before Joseph. When Joseph saw his brother Benjamin with them, he said to his household assistant,
"Take these men inside the palace. Then go and slaughter an animal, and prepare a feast. They will eat with me at mid-day.”
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So the man did as he was told and took them to Joseph's palace. At first they were terrified, and they said to each other,
"This must be because of the money that we found in our sacks after our last visit. He is looking for an excuse to seize us, to make us slaves, and take our donkeys and possessions."
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But Joseph’s assistant told them,
"Relax. Don't be afraid, everything is OK."
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Then he brought Simeon to join them. He gave them water to wash their feet and provided food for their donkeys. They were told they would be eating there, so they prepared their gifts for Joseph. When Joseph returned, they gave him the gifts they had brought, then bowed low before him. Joseph greeted them, and asked them,
"How is your father, the old man you spoke about? Is he still alive?"
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They replied
"Yes. Our father, is alive and well."
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Then Joseph turned to his brother Benjamin, the son of his mother Rachel.
"Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about? May God be gracious to you, my son."
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At this, Joseph was overcome with emotion for his brother. He hurried out to his own private room, where he broke down and wept. After he washed his face, and got his feelings under control. He came back out, and ordered his men,
"Bring out the food!"
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The waiters served Joseph at his own table. His brothers were served at a separate table, away from the other Egyptians, because the Egyptians despised Hebrews and refused to sit together at table with them.
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Joseph told each of his brothers where to sit, and they were amazed that he arranged them around the table according to their age, from oldest to youngest. Joseph ordered their plates to be filled with food from his own table, but he gave Benjamin five times as much as he gave the others.
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At first the brothers were very confused and unsure what was happening. But soon they relaxed and enjoyed the wonderful feast.
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So Joseph’s brothers arrive in Egypt for the second time. Their reception is very different from the first time they arrived, but this time Joseph was at least half-expecting them, and anxious to see if they would follow his instructions and bring Benjamin with them.
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What would you say are Joseph’s reasons for receiving them and arranging a banquet for them? Is he just showing his generosity and hospitality, or does he have ulterior motives?
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What do Joseph’s questions show about his relationship with his father, and with Benjamin? Why does he find it so difficult to control his emotions?
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Why do you think he takes the opportunity to arrange his brothers around the table in their order of birth? Do you think he is deliberately winding the m up?
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Why is he so generous to Benjamin in particular? How does this fit in with his overall strategy?
The brothers are clearly getting mixed messages from this experience and don’t know how to interpret what is happening to them.
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Why are they so terrified when they are taken at first to Joseph’s palace?
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How are they reassured?
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What is their response to the way Joseph deals with them at the banquet?
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How are they feeling by the end of this scene?
Joseph seems to be deliberately putting them at ease (though at the same time keeping them somewhat unsettled). But he is setting them up for a big surprise!
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Scene 3: HEADING HOME (from Genesis 44:1-13)
When the time came for his brothers to return to Canaan, Joseph said to his assistant:
"Fill each of their sacks with as much grain as they can carry. Put each man's money back into his sack. But when you come to the sack belonging to the youngest brother, put my silver cup at the top as well as the money for his grain."
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So Joseph’s assistant did as he was told.
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The brothers were up early the next morning. They loaded up their donkeys and set off home, with Simeon released from hostage, and Benjamin safe and sound. But they had only gone a short distance and were barely out of the city, when Joseph said to the captain of his palace guard,
"Chase after them and stop them. When you catch up with them, ask them,
'Why have you betrayed my master when he treated you well? Why have you stolen his silver cup, which he uses to predict the future? This is a really bad thing to do!' "
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So the captain of the guard chased after Joseph’s brothers, and when he caught up with them he accused them of stealing his masters silver cup, just as he had been told.
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The brothers objected strongly.
"Why are you accusing us like this? God forbid that we would ever do such a thing! Didn't we return bring back all the money we found in our sacks after our last visit? So why would we steal silver or gold from your master's house? If you find his cup with any one of us, let that man be put to death. And all the rest of us will be your slaves."
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The man replied
"That would be fair punishment. But my master says that only the one who stole the cup will remain as his slave. The rest of you may go free."
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They all quickly took their sacks from the backs of their donkeys and opened them. The captain of the guard searched the brothers' sacks, from the oldest to the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin's sack!
When the brothers saw this, they were overcome with grief and despair. Utterly dejected, they loaded up their donkeys again and returned to the city.
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So Joseph springs his trap. Let’s just make sure we understand Joseph’s plan.
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Why did Joseph let his brothers begin their journey home before he sent his servant after them?
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Why instruct his servant to search their sacks from eldest to youngest, leaving Benjamin until last?
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Why specifically did he plant his cup in Benjamin’s sack?
I would suggest that Joseph’s strategy had exactly the effect that he intended.
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How would the brothers be feeling when they set off on their journey home?
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What was their reaction when they were accused of stealing Joseph’s cup?
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How did their mood change when the cup was discovered in Benjamin’s sack?
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Describe their feelings as they returned to the city to face their accuser.
So Joseph now has the brothers in exactly the position that he intended. This is crunch time. Now Joseph has the perfect opportunity to find out how the brothers will respond when Benjamin’s welfare is at stake.
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Scene 4: JUDAH’S MEDIATION (from Genesis 44:14-34)
Joseph was still in his palace when Judah and his brothers arrived back, under guard. They fell to the ground before him. Joseph demanded,
"What did you think you were doing? Didn’t it occur to you that a man like me can read the omens and see everything that you do?"
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Judah answered,
"Oh, my lord, what can we say to you? How can we explain what has happened? How can we prove that we are innocent? God is punishing us for our sins. My lord, here we are as your slaves -- all of us, not just our brother who had your cup in his sack."
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Joseph said.
"No, I would never do such a thing! Only the man who was found with the cup will be my slave. The rest of you can go back to your father in peace."
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At this point Judah stepped forward to plead with Joseph,
"Please, my lord, don’t be angry with me for speaking to you one more time.
When the time came for us to return to Egypt and buy more grain, we told our father: 'We can't go back unless you let our youngest brother go with us.' Then my father said to us, 'As you know, my wife Rachel had two sons. One of them went away and never returned. Probably he was torn to pieces by some wild animal. Whatever happened, I have never seen him since. Now if you take his brother away from me, and any harm comes to him, I will surely die of grief.’
Now, my lord, I can’t possibly go back to my father without the boy. Our father's life is bound up in the boy's life. If he sees that the boy isn’t with us, our father will die of a broken heart, and his death will be all our fault. My lord, I guaranteed that I would take care of the boy. I told my father, 'If I don't bring him back to you, I will personally take the blame.' So please, my lord, let me stay here as a slave instead of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. How can I return to my father if the boy isn’t with me? I couldn't bear to see the misery this would cause him!"
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At this, Joseph could stand it no longer. He said to all the attendants that were there in the room,
"Out, get out all of you!"
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So Joseph has his brothers just where he wants them.
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At the beginning of the confrontation between Joseph and his brothers, it seems Joseph is still winding them up by emphasising his own superior position. Not just his superiority of office and political power, but his supposed ability to “read the omens”, implying that he can see whatever the brothers are up to – they have nowhere to hide from his influence.
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So Joseph now gives them the perfect opportunity to extract themselves from the situation, and leave Benjamin behind as the sacrificial lamb.
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What are the options that present themselves to Joseph’s brothers?
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What will the brothers’ decision reveal about them? How will this help Joseph to make decision about the way forward?
And this is where Judah steps forward and fulfils his responsibility as the guarantor for Benjamin’s safety.
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What does Judah’s intervention reveal about his sense of responsibility towards his father?
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How is Judah’s attitude now different from his attitude at the time of Joseph’s betrayal?
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When Joseph was sold into slavery, it seems that Judah (along with his other brothers) was most concerned about saving his own skin. Who is he most concerned about now? How does this show itself?
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How does this passage show that Judah is facing up to his own past sins?
At this point, Joseph can no longer contain his emotions. He sends all his Egyptian servants and attendants from the room, so that he can be alone with his brothers.
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Scene 5: RECONCILED! (from Genesis 45:1-15)
So Joseph was alone with his brothers. And he broke down and wept. He wept so loudly the Egyptians could hear him, and word of it quickly carried to Pharaoh's palace.
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He said to his brothers,
"Look, it’s me, Joseph! Is my father still alive?"
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But his brothers were speechless! They were stunned to realize this was Joseph standing there in front of them. Joseph continued:
"Please, come closer. I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt. But don't be upset, and don't be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to save your lives from the famine. This famine has brought suffering to the land for two years already, and it will be another five years before we can plant new crops and reap any harvest..
God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to save many others beside.
So it was God who sent me here, not you! He is the one who made me Chief Minister to Pharaoh -- the manager of his entire palace and the governor of all Egypt.
Hurry back to my father and tell him that I am alive. I will take care of you here in Egypt. If not, you, your household, and all your animals will starve.'"
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Joseph wept with joy. He hugged Benjamin, and Benjamin hugged him back. Then Joseph kissed each of his brothers and wept over them. After that they began talking freely with him.
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So here we reach the climax of the story. There are many clues that tell us this is so. From a literary point of view, the status of this passage as the climax of the story is confirmed by the length of Judah’s mediation (16 verses) and Joseph’s response (10 verses). In Hebrew literature these long monologues serve to slow the action down and to focus our attention on the characters involved. Both speeches are packed full of intense emotional expressions, another clue that we have reached the emotional high point in the narrative sequence.
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Joseph’s brothers have gone through a roller-coaster of emotional responses to the situations that Joseph has placed before them, but up until now they have at least attempted to make sense of the events facing them and come up with some sort of rational response (“all this is happening because of the way we treated Joseph… because of the money that was in our sacks… because of our sins.”). But at this point they are speechless, stupefied. There is no way they can make any sense at all out of what is happening to them. They simply cannot believe that this person standing before them is Joseph. It takes Joseph many repetitions and probably quite some time to convince them that it really is him.
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But let’s look at Joseph’s speech, and his actions, to understand the full implications of this reconciliation scene.
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Bear in mind that Joseph named his first son Manasseh, because "God has made me forget all my past troubles and the grief I suffered from my family." Having suffered so much at the hands of his brothers in the past, how much do you think it costs Joseph to put all these things behind him?
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Why was Joseph moved to tears by Judah’s speech? What did Joseph learn about Judah, and the rest of his brothers, that convinced Joseph to reveal himself to them?
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How was Joseph able to forgive his brothers for the suffering they had caused him?
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How does he go about convincing his brothers that he wants to forgive, and to be reconciled?
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How does he promise to treat them in the future?
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What did Joseph now understand about God’s purpose for all that had happened? How did this make a difference to Joseph’s attitude and actions towards his brothers?
At the end of chapter 23 we identified the different emotions that the brothers had gone through after their first visit to Egypt and interaction with Joseph. Contrast those emotions with those that the brothers must now be feeling at the end of their second visit. Identify the events and the changes they have experienced that have led to this amazing and unexpected change in their lives.
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From this point on in the story we are looking at the outworking, the unravelling of the narrative. Joseph’s reconciliation with his brothers has numerous important implications, not only for the brothers themselves, but for God’s purpose and plans for his chosen people, Israel.
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Scene 6: BACK TO CANAAN (from Genesis 45:16-28)
The news soon reached Pharaoh's palace: Pharaoh and his officials were all delighted to hear that Joseph had been reunited with his brothers.
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Joseph provided his brothers with wagons, as Pharaoh had commanded, and he gave them supplies for the journey back to Canaan. He gave each of them new clothes -- but to Benjamin he gave five changes of clothes and 300 pieces of silver. He also sent his father ten male donkeys loaded with the finest products of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other supplies.
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As Joseph sent his brothers off, he called after them,
"Don't quarrel about all this on the way home!"
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Joseph’s brothers left Egypt and returned to their father, Jacob, in the land of Canaan. They told him
"Joseph is still alive! And he is governor of all the land of Egypt!"
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Jacob was stunned at the news-- he couldn't believe it. But when they repeated to Jacob everything Joseph had told them, and when he saw the wagons Joseph had sent to carry him, their father's spirits revived. Then Jacob exclaimed,
"It must be true! My son Joseph is alive! I must go and see him before I die."
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There are two very profound changes indicated in this last scene. Both from an extremely negative position to a completely opposite, positive one.
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Firstly, at the beginning of the story, after all the envy and jealousy between Joseph and his brothers, all of them (except of course for Benjamin) were only too pleased to see the back of “this dreamer”. Now they are overjoyed to be able to tell Jacob that Joseph is still alive. What a change!
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What has happened since Joseph’s betrayal to effect this remarkable transformation?
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What must have changed in the brothers’ understanding of God’s plans and purposes for their family?
Secondly, this report brings a dramatic change in Jacob’s life. After Joseph went missing, presumably killed by a wild animal, Jacob declared, "I will go to my grave mourning for my son." There is no suggestion that Jacob has recovered to any extent from the effect of Joseph’s loss. He is still grieving just as much now as he was when Joseph was first lost. So the news from Joseph’s brothers takes a great deal to process, and a long time to sink in. But eventually Jacob is convinced by his sons’ arguments, and by the proof of the wagons filled with gifts that Joseph himself has sent, and,”their father's spirits revived”. After many, many years of grief and sorrow for his lost son, the sorrow lifts, and is replaced by joy.
"It must be true! My son Joseph is alive! I must go and see him before I die."
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The act of reconciliation has ch anged everything.
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Questions for consideration and discussion
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Judah’s display of self-sacrificing love – offering himself in Benjamin’s place – is a wonderful example of Christ’s sacrificial love for us. Consider the circumstances here:
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The result of Benjamin’s sin in stealing Joseph’s cup is that Benjamin will be permanently separated from his father. In Benjamin’s case this is set up by Joseph as a test for his brothers, but it is a reminder that sin always leads to separation and alienation.
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Judah is well aware of the pain and loss which this separation will cause, especially to their father.
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Judah is willing to offer himself as a slave in Benjamin’s place, so that Benjamin will be free to return to his father, and the relationship will be restored.
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In what ways does this remind you of Christ’s offering for our sin?
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How does this reflect on your own experience of salvation in Christ?
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In what ways has your relationship with the Father been restored?
Discuss how you can use this story to explain to others how Christ has offered himself as a sacrifice for sin.
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