Genesis 44:1,2
The final test came at the end of the semester or the end of
the school year, and it was something that I never looked forward to. I looked forward to being out of school;
no more tests, and I’m free to enjoy life and all it brings my way! The only problem with that thinking is
one fact; it is totally wrong. As
I’ve spent more time on planet earth, it has become clear, that each day I’m
preparing for some kind of test; it may be about how I treat the poor, or how I
behave toward my neighbors, or how I act around my friends, or how I love my
wife, or how I consider my God.
In the case of the eleven brothers of Joseph, ten of them
were in for a final test from the brother they believed to be dead. Joseph had to know if they had changed? Would they repeat the action of
fourteen plus years earlier, on his brother Benjamin; would they exchange him
for grain and freedom? It
becomes clear that the most difficult tests are the ones that we have not
planned for, and that is were we find the brothers of Joseph, they are on their
way home, all is good and then disaster.
Often, my teacher knew that I was not going to pass the
test, and the longer I stayed in one school my reputation would cloud the
opinion of my new teacher. That
was Joseph’s problem, he had a history with his brothers, and he was betting that
given the right circumstance they would act in the same fashion.
So this was the test; “Then he
commanded the steward of his house, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as
they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack, and put my
cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, with his money
for the grain.” And he did as
Joseph told him.” (Genesis 44:1-2) What the Bible does not tell us, is what took place while the
brothers were at Joseph’s house for lunch, did the brother admire the silver
cub, did Benjamin tell Joseph, that it reminded him of one back home in his
father’s house? We do not know,
but it is clear that Joseph picked that cup for a reason. It could be that the brothers sold him
for silver, and in Joseph’s mind, I’m sure he believed that they would do just
about anything for money.
As I’ve got older, the tests are not easier, they are still
focused on my character, my integrity; they still come when I least expect
them, and they always expose my heart.
They were never designed to harm me, but they were intended as a tool to
measure, to determine, to expose my actions and thoughts, so that I can see
what my God requires of me and that is; “to do justice,
and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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