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The Life of Joseph – Day 20

Genesis 43:27-30

He asked them how they were, and then he said, “How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still living?” They replied, “Your servant our father is still alive and well.” And they bowed down, prostrating themselves before him.

As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son, he asked, “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there.

The Thought

As Joseph hurried out, the brothers must really have wondered what the problem was. What prompted him to suddenly leave them? Maybe they just thought he was a busy man and could not spend any more time with these beggars from far away!

The next few verses tell us that Joseph composed himself, washed his face and behaved like the responsible leader that he was. At the same time his brothers watched, astonished that things progressed as they did.

There were different tables for Hebrews and Egyptians (verse 32) and Joseph ate alone! He must have been used to that because he was obviously not an Egyptian.

The Christian church in some parts of the world today still has leftovers of that sort of segregation, forgetting that Jesus prayed for us all to be in unity, as He and His Father are (John 17:11).

Action

Pray for a breakdown in the segregations of believers in our day.

Imagine the thoughts of the brothers when this strange important person asked so many questions about their family, and then suddenly left the room, leaving these bewildered brothers in his own home! What were they to do now?

How do you react to situations where things feel strange?

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This 20th post in our series looking at the life of Joseph, looks at Joseph’s reaction to being reunited with his youngest brother. It goes on to look at the question of segregation and how Jesus prayed for unity.