Tried & True

"And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones. I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever:"
Genesis 43:8‭-‬9. In the last reading passage, Joseph was anxious to test whether or not his brethren became true men. In the past, Joseph's brothers were hurtful and deceitful, so he had to see if they changed. Joseph asked them to bring their youngest brother, Benjamin, to Egypt, but Israel their father was reluctant. Israel knew the brothers had not always been true men, especially Judah, but as our above Scripture states: "I will be surety for him; of my hand shall thou require of him." Judah was willing to give his life for Benjamin's to prove his honesty. What a change!

This was the beginning of a little "testing voyage." Joseph would test them until these men qualified to be brothers to him again. This was also a big test for Israel. After much convincing, he finally allowed Benjamin to go and said: "And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved." Genesis 43:14. Like Abraham, Israel had to be tested, tried & true, when it came to what and whom he loved most.

Along this road of testing came blessing. Joseph put the food money back in the brothers' sacks, and still gave them the food anyway. The brothers were absolutely shocked at this, and upon returning to Egypt with their brother Benjamin, they said: "And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks." Genesis 43:22. They were speaking to one of Joseph's stewards:

"And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them." Genesis 43:‬23.

Finally all the brothers are back together, and they were told GOD had blessed them, but by the mouth of an Egyptian...? How would an Egyptian steward recognize God's hand upon the brothers? I'm sure if the brothers were to follow the clues, they'd know that Joseph must be there!

Now it was time for the last test. Joseph had his steward place his special cup into Benjamin's sack when the brothers started off on their way home. The steward was told to stop the brothers and accuse them of stealing it. The brothers said in response: "With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my Lord's bondmen. And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless." Genesis 44:9‭-‬10.

Notice something! The brothers said "with whomsoever OF MY SERVANTS it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my Lord's bondmen." First of all, the brothers officially gained a servant mentality to Joseph and his steward. Dream fulfilled! Also, they said the culprit should die, but the steward simply said that the culprit would have to stay and serve, while the others go free. Another clue: no death involved!

Upon returning to Joseph, Judah said, "It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave. For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever."

Genesis 44:31‭-‬32. The one brother, Judah, who caused the most damage in Joseph's and Israel's life, has become a servant and a sacrifice. The brothers have past the test! They are loyal to their family members, to God, and have become tried & true!

Joseph reveals himself to his brethren soon after, and Pharaoh allows Joseph to bring his family to live very close to Egypt to be near Joseph and near the food supply. Joseph also tells his brethren: "Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life." Genesis 45:5.

Joseph gives all glory to God! Are we tried & true? If put to the test, would we have integrity? Would we trust in God? Let's keep this in focus in 2020!