Day 14 -- Genesis 43-45

The story of Joseph reaches it's climax in today's reading. Two things are satisfied by the conclusion--justice and mercy.

The elaborate game that Joseph plays with his unsuspecting brothers--the exchange of hostages, the silver cup secreted in Benjamin's sack, Joseph's pretended outrage-becomes an excruciating test of their repentance. Are they really sorry for their sin or just pretending? Is there integrity in these brothers who have acted so badly? Are they worth saving?

The silver cup itself is an interesting detail. It is not clear exactly how the cup would have been used for divination (44:5). It was probably filled with water or oil, small objects dropped in it, and conclusions drawn from the movement of the liquid. In any case, it was a precious object with magical properties, something Joseph himself used to divine the future, as people in later times use a crystal ball (44:15).

There are other ancient trappings in the story, but the message is clear---justice is built into the universe. The brothers who had callously sold Joseph into slavery must suffer in proportion to the suffering they caused. In order for forgiveness to be genuine, punishment must be real. Joseph intentionally draws it out, although to do so causes him genuine anguish and tears. Several times he is forced by his emotions to withdraw into a private room to weep (43:30).

But all this only serves to set the stage for a complete reconciliation. Joseph acknowledges his own misfortunes as the work of the Lord. His suffering has meaning--it has purchased his family's survival. "God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. . . " (45:7-8).

Joseph's mercy mirrors the mercy of God for the "remnant." Some will perish. Many will suffer. But God will always preserve a "remnant"--that is the theme that runs through the Old Testament. Because of Joseph, a remnant survives the famine. Egypt is their refuge. (And their refuge will become a prison--but that comes later.) But for now the memory of God's covenant is being kept alive to testify to his faithfulness.

So our reading ends with the words of old man Jacob--"Enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I must go and see him before I die" (45:28). The Family of Promise will go together down to Egypt, where it will multiply and grow into a nation. Israel's history is about to open onto a larger stage.