Joseph #27: Shalom

The brothers return to Egypt, and the moment of truth arrives. Joseph sees Benjamin for the first time in over 20 years. Joseph has his long-sought evidence that his brothers had not harmed Benjamin, which indicates that they have not lied about him or their father. The fact that Benjamin has come with the brothers means that Jacob trusts them—he did not feel compelled to go with them to protect his son.

As soon as he espies his brothers, he puts the next stage of his plan into effect. He instructs his steward to take the brothers to his house. Instead of accepting this as an honor, they are fearful. They think that they will be arrested and imprisoned over the case of the money in their sacks. Before they even enter the house, they retell the story of this mysterious money, fearing the worst. But they are in for a surprise. The steward greets them in Hebrew and attributes what had happened with the money to their God.

The steward's answer, "God put it there," silences them. They may have been tempted to investigate the mystery of the money in the sacks. But the steward delivers a message: forget about it. Some things in our lives will always remain a mystery that only the Lord knows. Our comfort? God is the God of details.

He then releases Simeon to them, further proof of God's blessing and the Prime Minister's kindness. Their fears of arrest and imprisonment are clearly unfounded. They then learn that the great man is on his way to join them for lunch, and they begin preparing to present the gift they had brought.