Retelling the story of their trip to Egypt to their father, they leave out key details: Simeon is in prison, the Egyptian Prime Minister's threat of execution if they do not return with Benjamin, and the money in their sacks.
As they open the remaining sacks of grain, they again find money. We can understand why the brothers are afraid, but why is Jacob? As many commentators point out, he may suspect them of selling Simeon into slavery and pocketing the money. They fail another of Joseph's tests: will Jacob trust them? They also fail another test, one that is easily overlooked: gaining Benjamin's trust. He stands silent, neither agreeing to go to Egypt nor resisting. He sits in silence while his father condemns his second-oldest brother to death on his behalf.
Overwhelmed, Jacob cries out, "all these things are against me." But Jacob is coming to the wrong conclusion. He assumes how things will play out. His faith is at a low point. He seems to forget the covenant and the Lord's promise that he will be with him, the same assurance He gave Joseph. Sadly, we do the same thing in our daily lives. We overreact to bad news and underact in believing God's promises.
Then, it is Ruben's turn to overreact. He makes a brash and reckless proposal. Jacob can kill his grandsons if he does not return from Egypt with Benjamin. Jacob rejects the suggestion. Benjamin will stay home. Jacob is willing to allow his second oldest son to stay in prison in Egypt to save his youngest son.
We wrap up the lesson by reviewing Joseph's seven tests he used on his brothers and how they apply to our own lives.
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Kurt Snow serves as a ruling elder at Covenant Reformed Church of Sacramento (RCUS). He served as a member of the Board of Governors of City Seminary of Sacramento from 2000 to 2020.
