LESSON LEARNED

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The steward took the men into Joseph's house, gave them water to wash their feet and provided fodder for their donkeys. They prepared their gifts for Joseph's arrival at noon, because they had heard that they were to eat there.

When Joseph came home, they presented to him the gifts they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground. He asked them how they were, and then he said, "How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still living?"

They replied, "Your servant our father is still alive and well." And they bowed low to pay him honor.

As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother's son, he asked, "Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?" And he said, "God be gracious to you, my son."

Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there.

After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself, said, "Serve the food."

They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, for that is detestable to Egyptians. The men had been seated before him in the order of their ages, from the firstborn to the youngest; and they looked at each other in astonishment. When portions were served to them from Joseph's table, Benjamin's portion was five times as much as anyone else's.

So they feasted and drank freely with him.

Genesis 43:24-34

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

When we left off in yesterday’s message, Jacob’s sons had returned to Egypt, bringing along their youngest brother, Benjamin, as had been demanded by Egypt’s ruler, unbeknownst to them being their lost brother Joseph. This obedient response to Joseph’s request led to the release of Simeon, who been held until the brothers had proven that they spoke the truth about their family and having a younger brother. After Simeon’s release, we saw where all of the sons of Jacob were together for the first time after long being separated, even though eleven of them didn’t yet recognize Joseph. They still saw him as the powerful Egyptian ruler that he was, only one notch below Pharaoh himself.

The scriptures tell us that the eleven brothers "presented to” Joseph “the gifts they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground." Of interest, this was yet another fulfillment of the dream that Joseph had before his brothers schemed against him, selling him into slavery.

Well, we see where Joseph, the one his brothers feared, showed a special interest in their welfare as well as how their father was doing, a display of caring that didn’t even register as being unusual by the other eleven. This is surprising because culturally, the Egyptians held great disdain for the Hebrews. In fact, we read where they refused to eat at the same table with them.

They had to begin to realize that this "Egyptian" seemed different, showing concern for them and their father, even going as far as asking if he was still alive. Of course, we know Joseph had a special place in his heart for their father (and his), Jacob, and what a blessing it must have been for him to hear that he was very much alive and well. We have to know that his heart must have been yearning to see him once again and as we’re going to see, it wouldn’t be long before that would come to be,

We also see how thankful Joseph was to see his youngest brother, Benjamin. In fact, it’s interesting to note that Benjamin was the only brother Joseph addressed personally saying, "God be gracious to you, my son." This extended wish of God’s blessing upon Benjamin was followed with a sudden outpouring of emotion. For we read where Joseph went to "his private room and wept there."

Why was Joseph so emotional?

Well, you’ll probably remember that Joseph and Benjamin were the only two sons born by Jacob’s wife, Rachel, the wife he deeply loved the most. Unfortunately, she tragically died after giving birth to Benjamin and so he held special significance, not only to Jacob but his older brother Joseph as well.

The scriptures tell us that after he had composed himself, Joseph returned and ordered that the meal be served. This meal should have been another indicator that something unique was happening because we read where the brothers were "seated before” Joseph “in the order of their ages, from the firstborn to the youngest." The seating arrangement astonished the eleven sons of Jacob for they had to be wondering how anyone in Egypt would know their precise birth order.

Another bizarre element to the meal happened after everyone was seated and the food was being apportioned out. For we read that Benjamin received a portion that was "five times as much as anyone else's”, an obvious sign that he was receiving special favor above the other ten.

So how did the other ten respond to this?

It’s interesting that they didn’t display any hint of jealousy or envy. Rather, the scriptures tells us that they "feasted and drank freely with him", another indication to Joseph (and to the Lord as well) that the brothers had learned their lesson from the previous bad behavior that put Joseph into enslavement.

Indeed, we see radical change happening through the actions of Joseph’s brothers as they went from being prideful, selfish and self-centered to being humble, respectful, and sacrificing. Joseph had to see clearly that they had grown to be better people, something that must have led him to feel ready to be a part of the family again.

Now, on the surface of this Joseph story, it appears that Joseph is the one testing his brothers but I am more inclined to think that it was more like God testing them through Joseph, using him to teach them a lesson so they could realize their wrongs and become more right and righteous in their living.

Friends, this powerful, wise Lord of Joseph’s day is the powerful and wise God we serve today and trust me when I say that He is still in the lesson teaching business. The question is, “Are we willing to be learn from Him?”

We can when we realize we are imperfect people trying to live this thing called life in the presence of a perfect Lord, a Lord who corrects sin and guides sinners toward first realizing the wrongs of their ways before showing them a better way, namely His way.

In doing this, we can either come to God willingly on our own or He will bring us into circumstances to teach us the lessons He wants us to learn, just as He did the brothers of Joseph.

It’s up to us to choose which way God will go.  

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.