Story 68 A Silver Cup in a Sack of Grain
After years of separation, Joseph’s brothers were sitting in his own home in Egypt. How strange and wonderful it must have seemed. When he saw Benjamin, he was filled with great sobs of tears. He had to leave the room to pull himself together again.
The time for the meal at noon came. Joseph’s brothers were all served in one room and the Egyptians of the household were served in another. The Egyptians believed they were a superior race to these Hebrew men. Eating with them would have been detestable. Joseph, on the other hand, received the food by himself. He was a very important, high official, and there was no equal man or woman in the palace to sit with him. He was honoring the codes and protocols of Egyptian rule.
As the rest of Jacob’s sons ate, they became very curious about something. Their seating had been arranged so that they were put in the order of their ages. How did the Egyptians know that Reuben was the oldest? How did they know that Simeon and Levi were next in line? Then another curious thing happened. When the food came, Benjamin was given five times more than anyone else.
As they wondered about these curious facts, the brothers all feasted hungrily and freely together. They ate until they were full. Can you imagine what it was like for these nomadic shepherds as they banqueted in a palace fit for a king? How elegant the carvings and tile on the floor must have seemed to them! How rich the soft fabrics and ornaments of gold must have looked! Did they wonder what it was like to be the such a lavishly wealthy ruler?
The hand of God must have seemed powerful and strange to them on that day. The blessings had come far beyond their hope or imagination. First the harsh official’s servant seemed to know about their God. Then, after living in quaking fear of God’s righteous punishment against them, they learned that it was God’s kindness that had returned the silver to their sacks. Rather than being tried as criminals, they were rewarded with the return of Simeon. And now, Benjamin seemed to have found special favor in the household of Pharaoh’s highest ruler!
On their first trip to Egypt, it had seemed that God’s hand was utterly against them. Now it seemed his hand was working entirely in their favor. Their faithful, united risk in returning to Egypt to save Simeon and feed their family was being blessed. God was using the Egyptian official to work in their lives to teach them repentance and loyalty. Little did they know that the official was their own brother, and he was doing it on purpose! And his work wasn’t finished quite yet.
The invitation to Joseph’s home meant the brothers were to stay the night. Joseph gave his steward special instructions for when they would leave the next day. He told him to fill up his brothers sacks with all the food they could carry. Once again, their silver was to be put at the top of each sack. And in Benjamin’s sack, they were to put Joseph’s own silver goblet. Wow.
What would the brothers do when the silver goblet was found in Benjamin’s sack? Would they abandon their youngest brother? Would they forget their promise to Jacob to protect him? Or would they protect Benjamin and show that they had truly changed?
At the break of dawn the next morning, the brothers rose for the long journey home. Before they had travelled too far, Joseph sent his steward to go get them. Joseph told him to say, “‘Why have you repaid good with evil? Isn’t this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.’”
The steward found Joseph’s brothers and said exactly what Joseph told him to. The brothers were distressed. How could he believe such terrible things about them? Hadn’t they brought the silver back the first time? They knew they were all innocent of taking the silver cup!
So they said, “‘If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die, and the rest of us will become the lord’s servants.’” Wow. Those were serious words. It wasn’t something they could take back. The brothers were finally willing to stand by each other in loyalty, even if it meant bearing the burden of another’s guilt. They also trusted each other. They were sure of each other’s innocence, so they could make their oaths boldly.
“‘Very well then,’” said the steward, “‘let it be as you say. Whoever is found to have it will become my slave; the rest of you will be free from blame.’”
Each of Jacob’s sons took their sacks down from their donkeys and opened them. They
went through every sack, taking his time, going from the oldest to the youngest. When they finally got to Benjamin’s sack, they found the cup. The older brothers were devastated. They tore their clothes in grief and shock. What were they going to do?
The steward brought the brothers back to Joseph. Judah stood before him and admitted he could not prove their innocence. He didn’t know how the cup arrived in Benjamin’s sack. Then he offered all eleven sons to serve as the slaves of Joseph. They would stand together with their youngest brother.How remarkable that must have been for Joseph to see! The sons of Leah and Bilhah and Zilpah were sacrificing their lives for a son of Rachel!
Joseph said, “‘Far be it from me to do such a thing! Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back to your father in peace.’” Do you see how Joseph tested them? Do you see what they were proving to him with their loyalty?
Judah had promised to bear the blame for his entire life if Benjamin was not returned to his father! He could not agree to leave him behind. So there, at the very peril of his life, Judah stood before Joseph and gave a passionate speech, pleading with Joseph to change his mind. This is the longest speech recorded in the book of Genesis, and it shows how important this story was to God and the life of God’s chosen family. Judah’s words tell something magnificent and wonderful about what God had been doing in his heart.
He began by telling Joseph that he had made a promise to Jacob. He explained to Joseph how his father had a beloved wife who only had two sons. The first son died, and so the second was especially precious to him. He explained how unthinkable it was when Joseph demanded they bring their father’s youngest son to Egypt. Their father would never part with Benjamin, even though Simeon was being held captive. Judah explained how the father urged them to go back to Egypt, but they knew they couldn’t without the youngest boy. So finally, in the face of certain starvation, their father had agreed. Then Judah told Joseph exactly what Jacob said;
“‘“You know that my wife bore me two sons. One of them went away from me, and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” And I have not seen him since. If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head town to the grave in misery.”’”
Imagine what it was like for Joseph to hear the words of his father! Then Judah told his brother, the Egyptian official standing before him:
“‘So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy’s life, sees that the boy isn’t there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow.’”
Finally, Judah threw himself at the mercy of Joseph. He explained how he had promised his father that he would protect Benjamin at all cost. That must have been stunning for Joseph! Was this the same Judah who sold him into slavery?
Judah begged Joseph to let Benjamin return to Jacob. He offered his own life in Benjamin’s place. He would be the one who stayed behind, to save his father’s life and to honor his promise. He pleaded, “‘Do not let me see the misery that would come upon my father.’” The compassion and sacrifice in Judah’s words displayed the glorious, utter transformation of his heart. It had become one of sacrifice and love. It had become a heart worthy of a king.
The speech reached across the great divide between Joseph and his brothers. It pierced Joseph’s heart completely. It was clear that God had done a mighty work. They had fully passed Joseph’s test. The life of the covenant between Joseph and brothers could be restored. As he listened to Judah offer himself up in the place of Benjamin and heard his utter devotion to their father, he could not control himself any longer. He told all of his Egyptian servants to leave the room. Then he broke down into great weeping and sobs right in front of them. “‘I am Joseph!’” he declared, “‘Is my father still living?’”
How shocked they must have been to learn that this was Joseph, the brother they had sold so many years ago! How unbelievable it must have been to hear that this was he, the most powerful man in Egypt, dressed in royal clothes in his own grand palace!