I don’t look sick, do I? The year was 2002, right before the health crash that landed me in bed for six months. Between 1997 – 2005, I endured a lot of medical testing. (CLICK HERE for more about my chronic illness battle.) At times, I questioned whether it should be called testing or torture. Were it not for believing my doctors cared deeply about finding answers, I might have labeled it torture!
Believing we know a person’s motives, intentions, and character makes all the difference when labeling their actions toward us or others.
Labeling Joseph–Testing or Torture?
I’ve read Joseph’s story in Genesis dozens–perhaps even hundreds–of times and always considered him to have the heart of a true hero. Faithful to his God even when he didn’t understand, even when life repeatedly kicked him in the teeth.
But I must confess…I get a little uncomfortable with the way my hero treats his brothers when they come to buy grain in Egypt. In Genesis 42-45, it’s hard to know if he’s testing them or torturing them.
About the time I was trying to decide if my medical ordeal was testing or torture, I read Genesis 44:1-34 during my daily quiet time. Here’s what my 39-year-old self thought of Joseph and his brothers back then…
Deep-O-Tionals: Genesis – Part 3 (Day 13)
Touching the Heart (Story)
I was in my mid-30s and having heart palpitations. A family history of high cholesterol and heart disease gave my doctor the ammunition he needed to order a stress test. “Just a little time on the treadmill,” he explained. “And then we’ll watch your heart respond by doing an ultrasound.” Simple enough, eh?
He neglected to mention the mountain-climbing incline, running til your legs nearly buckle, and your chest nearly exploding. Seriously! 😳 Was there a little wicked delight in making a thirty-something woman weak-kneed? He kept telling the nurse, “I think she can go a little longer. Keep going! Keep going!” Finally, panting and seeing spots, I crawled to the exam table for the ultrasound.
Thankfully, my heart function was normal, but why did a test have to be such torture? If it weren’t for the noble purpose, many medical procedures could qualify as torture. Maybe the same is true of Joseph’s actions toward his brothers. If we weren’t sure of Joseph’s noble heart, I might think he was torturing his brothers….
Teaching the Mind (Commentary)
Genesis 44:1-5
“He commanded the steward of his house, saying, ‘Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in his sack’s mouth. Put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack’s mouth of the youngest, with his grain money.’ He did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys. When they had gone out of the city, and were not yet far off, Joseph said to his steward, ‘Up, follow after the men. When you overtake them, ask them, “Why have you rewarded evil for good? Isn’t this that from which my lord drinks, and by which he indeed divines? You have done evil in so doing”’” (emphasis added).
Joseph had given much thought to this elaborate ruse, even planting his personal silver cup in order to use divination as the reason for realizing the men’s crime so quickly. A man with such a nimble mind would certainly be a fierce enemy or a brilliant judge of character. I wonder if Joseph knew from the beginning if he intended to test or torture his brothers? Were his motives pure from the start?
Genesis 44:6-10
He overtook them, and he spoke these words to them. They said to him, ‘Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants that they should do such a thing! Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks’ mouths, we brought again to you out of the land of Canaan. How then should we steal silver or gold out of your lord’s house? With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my lord’s slaves.’ He said, ‘Now also let it be according to your words. He with whom it is found will be my slave; and you will be blameless’” (emphasis added).
The brothers could have stopped with their logical explanation. Instead, they went on to make an unnecessary and extravagant vow that placed their lives at risk. Too many words sometimes reveal our insecurities and paint us into a corner.
Genesis 44:11-16
“Then they hurried, and each man took his sack down to the ground, and each man opened his sack. He searched, beginning with the oldest, and ending at the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. Then they tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey, and returned to the city. Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, and he was still there. They fell on the ground before him. Joseph said to them, ‘What deed is this that you have done? Don’t you know that such a man as I can indeed do divination?’ Judah said, ‘What will we tell my lord? What will we speak? How will we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants. Behold, we are my lord’s slaves, both we and he also in whose hand the cup is found.’”
Joseph must have recognized the first sign of his brothers’ changed hearts—spiritual consciousness. Jacob’s sons neither argued with the steward, nor did they try to bargain with Joseph even though they were innocent. They recognized God’s involvement in a situation out of their control, and they openly acknowledged due punishment for their sin. Only a repentant heart can recognize an unfair circumstance as justice and leave it in God’s hands.
Genesis 44:17-20
“He said, ‘Far be it from me that I should do so. The man in whose hand the cup is found, he will be my slave; but as for you, go up in peace to your father.’ Then Judah came near to him, and said, ‘Oh, my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s ears, and don’t let your anger burn against your servant; for you are even as Pharaoh. My lord asked his servants, saying, “Have you a father, or a brother?” We said to my lord, “We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother; and his father loves him.”’”
Judah doesn’t call Benjamin, “Father’s favorite” or the “favored son.” He says their father “loves” Benjamin. The brothers’ fiery jealousy has been tempered enough to recognize a deeper, abiding love that Jacob feels for Rachel’s second son—an important resolution in emotionally maturing hearts. Though it may still hurt that their father loves Benjamin more, at least they can acknowledge it is love, not just blind favoritism. May we all work through childhood scars to find some resolve.
Genesis 44:21-29
[Judah continued] “‘You said to your servants, “Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.” We said to my lord, “The boy can’t leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.” You said to your servants, “Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will see my face no more.” When we came up to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. Our father said, “Go again and buy us a little food.” We said, “We can’t go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down: for we may not see the man’s face, unless our youngest brother is with us.” Your servant, my father, said to us, “You know that my wife bore me two sons. One went out from me, and I said, ‘Surely he is torn in pieces;’ and I haven’t seen him since. If you take this one also from me, and harm happens to him, you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol”’”(emphasis added).
Can you imagine being Joseph and hearing your dad’s reaction to your death for the first time? Is Joseph enjoying the mental torture he’s inflicting on his brothers, or is he still a man of integrity testing their character? I believe Joseph, like us, is repeatedly tempted to let bitterness/regret/anger lead him off the integrity path. Only the individual and God know the true motive of the heart.
Genesis 44:30-34
[Judah continued,] “‘Now therefore when I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us; since his life is bound up in the boy’s life; it will happen, when he sees that the boy is no more, that he will die. Your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant, our father, with sorrow to Sheol. For your servant became collateral for the boy to my father, saying, “If I don’t bring him to you, then I will bear the blame to my father forever.” Now therefore, please let your servant stay instead of the boy, my lord’s slave; and let the boy go up with his brothers. For how will I go up to my father, if the boy isn’t with me?—lest I see the evil that will come on my father.’”
The biggest revelation of changed character came when Judah offered his life for Benjamin’s. He had promised Jacob that he would offer himself in Ben’s place, but he was actually DOING what he said. May we all have such character when tested.
Transforming the Life (Prayer)
-
- Lord, I’d like to say my motives are always pure, but You know that’s not true. I pray You will search my heart and cleanse every intention to make it right, good, and worthy of You.
- Lord, teach me the economy of words, the value of choosing them carefully, and knowing when enough is enough. Let my character be revealed by action so vows become unnecessary.
- Lord, may my character be so committed to Your sovereignty that even when circumstances spiral out of my control, I can be at peace in the presence of perceived enemies. Let humility and repentance overcome any tendency toward self-defense and pride.
- Lord, open my heart to those things from my childhood that I need to let go of in order to move on in my relationship with You and others. Help me forgive, confront, and/or release those people that I still struggle with.
- Lord, when I’m tempted to gloat or enjoy another person’s hardship, forgive me. Keep my heart humble and teachable, compassionate and willing to serve—even when I’m called to teach hard lessons to others.
- Lord, whether I’m testing or being tested, the ultimate sign of godly character is putting others’ good before my own. Though I’m not called to be a doormat, I’m called to love as You loved and serve as You served…and that requires having an “others first” mindset. Help me cultivate that in my own life and recognize it in others.
(You can find the fourth section of the devotional, Sheep Going Deep, in Deep-O-Tionals: Devotions with Depth–Genesis: Part 3, Day 13.)
CLICK HERE For More Information on the 3-book Genesis series: Deep-O-Tionals: Devotions with Depth
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from any qualifying purchase links on this page.)
