16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make ready, for the men are to dine with me at noon.” 17 The man did as Joseph told him and brought the men to Joseph’s house. 18 And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph’s house, and they said, “It is because of the money, which was replaced in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may assault us and fall upon us to make us servants and seize our donkeys.” 19 So they went up to the steward of Joseph’s house and spoke with him at the door of the house, 20 and said, “Oh, my lord, we came down the first time to buy food. 21 And when we came to the lodging place we opened our sacks, and there was each man’s money in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight. So we have brought it again with us, 22 and we have brought other money down with us to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.” 23 He replied, “Peace to you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks for you. I received your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them. 24 And when the man had brought the men into Joseph’s house and given them water, and they had washed their feet, and when he had given their donkeys fodder, 25 they prepared the present for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they should eat bread there.
26 When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present that they had with them and bowed down to him to the ground. 27 And he inquired about their welfare and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” 28 They said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves. 29 And he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me? God be gracious to you, my son!” 30 Then Joseph hurried out, for his compassion grew warm for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. And he entered his chamber and wept there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out. And controlling himself he said, “Serve the food.” 32 They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. 33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth. And the men looked at one another in amazement. 34 Portions were taken to them from Joseph’s table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. And they drank and were merry with him.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
When Joseph saw that Benjamin is with his brothers, he had his steward take them to his house and prepare a meal for them to share with him. The brothers were afraid because they thought that they were going to be assaulted because of the money that was in their sacks. They went to Joseph’s steward and told him that they had found the money and that they had returned with all of it to repay it in full. The steward replied that the money in their sacks must have been a gift from God because he had received their money. Simeon was returned to them. They were then taken into Joseph’s house, given a chance to clean up and their donkeys were fed. They prepared the gift they had brought for Joseph.
When Joseph arrived, they brought him the gift they had prepared and bowed down to the ground. Joseph’s first dream was fulfilled (Gen 37:7). Joseph enquired about their (and his) father and they said he was still alive. When he saw his brother Benjamin (his full brother, the others were all half brothers) he was moved to tears and had to remove himself to weep and then compose himself. When the food was served, the brothers were seated from the eldest to the youngest. They were amazed that this “Egyptian” was able to know things like their birth order. The brothers were all given food from Joseph’s table but Benjamin was shown special favour and he received five times as much as the others. They all ate and drank and were merry with him. The Hebrew word for “merry” means they became intoxicated or got drunk. The Bible is often very plain when it speaks of how people behaved. Just because the Bible describes people doing certain things, doesn’t mean that they should have been doing those things. There are places where God is clear about how we should act (eg. Eph 5:18) but it also describes how people still choose to act their own way. When we look at characters in the Bible, they can be an example to us on how to act and how not to act.