Joseph Finally Meets His Little Brother

By Mary Vee
Genesis 43:15-23


Of course Benjamin had to travel in the middle of the group. His brothers guarded him like he was a baby. They wouldn’t even let him snitch some of the fruits, honey, pistachio nuts, or almonds their father packed to give to the governor in Egypt. And at night, they wouldn’t let him do hardly anything when setting up the camp. “You might hurt yourself,” they said. Benjamin rolled his eyes. Yeah right.

Reuben wouldn’t even tell him where he hid the money. Each brother brought a double payment to make up for the coins found in their sack on the way home the first time. Reuben and Judah wouldn’t let anyone have any fun.

As they drew near to the capital city, Benjamin’s heart pulsed in his head like a drum. The buildings! Magnificent buildings rose high into the sky. Reuben led them down a narrow street of shops. Blankets, pottery, paintings, every kind of food imaginable!

Benjamin strayed to one shop to look inside. Asher grabbed him by the shoulder. “Come on. We need to see the governor before he closes the food line today.”

At the end of the street, Benjamin found himself in a large court packed with people. Judah moved near him. “Stay close to me. I don’t want you getting lost in the crowd.”

The brothers squeezed in line, inching their way to the front. Two hours later they appeared before the governor’s workers. “State your name and business.”

“I’m Reuben bar Jacob. These are my nine brothers. We’ve come to buy food.”

“Reuben bar Jacob, you say?” The worker left his desk. A few minutes later the governor appeared.

Benjamin gazed at the regal governor. He and his brothers bowed. Judah. The governor spoke to a servant then the servant turned to them. “Follow me."

Benjamin stood. "Judah, where's he taking us."

"I don't know. He said he would release Simeon if we brought you. But now I'm not sure what's going on."

The brothers walked closer together whispering as they followed the servant. They turned a corner and walked down a street to a large home. The servant escorted them into a small room and shut the door. Reuben looked around the room. "This is the governor's house!"

Benjamin walked over to the window. "Why did they bring us here?"

"I know why," Levi flung his fingers through his hair then paced. "It's because of the money that was in our sacks. Their going to accuse us of stealing the money."

Asher rolled one fist into his other hand. "They'll take our donkeys and sell us as slaves."

Benjamin's eyes grew wide. "Maybe we shouldn't have come."

Judah took a deep breath. "No harm will come to you, I will see to that."

The steward opened the door and stepped inside. Reuben pushed forward. "Sir, if we've been brought her because of the coins in our sacks, we are innocent. We paid the money. On our journey home, we opened our grain sacks and found what we paid. To prove our innocence, we've brought double the money to pay back our debt. We have no clue how it got in our sack."

The steward held up his hand and smiled. "Don't worry. You are not in trouble. Your God and the God of your father has put the money in your sacks. I received your payment."

Benjamin and the others sighed relief. The steward opened the door and signaled a guard to come forward. The guard entered with a prisoner.

"Simeon!" Benjamin ran forward and gave his older brother a hug. "Simeon, the governor released you!"

Simeon laughed. "That's because he saw you! You got me out of prison, little brother."

God has given several stories in the Bible that show how he uses younger people, shorter people, different people, and all sorts of people to do the jobs needed to be done. Can you think of a time God used you to help someone?

Benjamin's Request Denied

By Mary Vee
Genesis 42:38-43:14

Benjamin sighed. His brothers tried to talk their father into taking him to Egypt. It was the only way the governor would release Simeon from jail. I wouldn't mind going to Egypt. I'm not afraid.

His father, Jacob, stood firm. "I'm telling you, Reuben. I won't let Benjamin go. His brother, Joseph, is dead and now he is left alone."

The brothers looked at Benjamin. He wasn't sure what their eyes said, but it didn't seem good. He looked down at the ground and shuffled his feet. If I went, I could get Simeon out of jail. "Father, I want to help."

Jacob shook his head. "You're not going Benjamin. If I lost you...I'd...I'd die. No. I won't change my mind."

Benjamin's brothers turned away in a huff. He heard them muttering. Great, now they'll be mad at me.

Days and weeks passed. No one said a word about Egypt to keep from upsetting Jacob. After a while the grain bin grew empty. One morning, Leah, Jacob's wife became concerned. "I can't make bread. We're out of grain. Benjamin, go tell your father we need more."

Benjamin walked out to the field and found his father with a handful of dry dirt. "The grain is gone. What do you want us to do."

Jacob rolled his thumb in the powdery dirt. "The rain still has not come." He dropped the dirt and brushed his hands on his tunic. "Call your brothers. Tell them to meet me here."

Benjamin found Reuben first. "Father wants to meet with all of you. He's out by the field."

Reuben nodded. "I'll help you get the others."

Benjamin followed his brothers, but made sure he stayed toward the back of the group.

"The grain is gone." Jacob turned toward his sons. "As much as I hate to say this, you need to go to Egypt to buy more."

"Father, the govenor won't sell us any food unless we have Benjamin." Judah rubbed his temple. "He distinctly warned us, saying he would never see us unless our youngest brother came. If we can take Benjamin we'll go, but, if you refuse then we won't bother with the journey."

Jacob huffed. He raised his fist and paced. "Why did you tell him you had another brother in the first place?"

"But he asked about our family." Levi picked at the gate. "If we didn't tell the truth, we'd all be in jail right now. We didn't know he'd say we had to bring Benjamin back."

No one spoke. The brother's looked at each other trying to figure out what to say.

"Send Benjamin with me." Judah pressed his hands together and held them close to his face. "I will watch him. We'll go, buy the grain. If I don't bring him back safely, let me bear the blame forever." He stepped close to his father. "Look, if we hadn't waited we could have gone to Egypt and been back by now with more grain. Our families are hungry."

Jacob walked away from his sons a few steps. He gazed out at the dusty, empty fields. "Take your brother and go back to Egypt. And may God Almighty give you mercy before the governor that he may release Simeon and return Benjamin. Go. Leave at once."

Benjamin ran back to his tent. "I get to go to Egypt!"

Why didn't Jacob want Benjamin to go to Egypt? Sometimes we ask our parents if we can do things or go places and they say no. Why do they do that? What did the brothers do when Jacob said "no"? What does God want us to do when our parents say no?