It struck me for the first time today that Joseph was taking care of his family when he sent back their money. I had always wondered if he had meant to intimidate them or get them in trouble. Nothing of the sort. Imagine, if your family had come to buy food because they had so little at home. Would you charge them full price? Would you charge them at all? Joseph didn't. And in fact, he told a little misdirection (was it really a lie) in telling them that God had put the money in their sacks: do we not credit God for every blessing we receive? Would it be so far-fetched to say that God moved Joseph to return the money in their sacks, when they could not return it or try to pay again, in order to provide for Israel and his sons? I think not. And Joseph did indeed receive their money; he simply put it back. I have to admit, if I was in Joseph's shoes (and refusing to reveal my identity), I would likely have done the same thing. No way was my family going to pay!
A side note: Notice Israel instructed his sons to take the choicest fruits of the land... during a famine. Things are incredibly lean, so much so that to eat they went all the way down to Egypt to buy grain. So these things must have been very precious indeed to send along to an unknown man. But then, this man was holding one of his sons and Israel was sending him another. So, really, what was the most precious?
Tomorrow's Reading: Genesis 44:1-34
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