Genesis 42
Dear RTB’ers,
Joseph and his brothers, again. Put yourself into the story today. I’m playing the part of one of the brothers. I go back to Genesis 37 where we sold Joseph into slavery and tricked our father into believing that he is dead. Now we’re being charged with spying the land and we’re defending ourselves. We put on humility, but even then part of our defense is an outright lie, “…one is no longer alive…” (Gen. 42:13b), spoken to that one who is, in fact, very much alive! We proclaim our strongest defense, “…we are honest men…” (Gen. 42:11b) Laughable! Eventually we come to the fact that our horrible sin from years past has come to roost: Then they said to one another, “Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; for that reason this distress has happened to us.” (Gen. 42:21) Finally, we admit that we are sinners.
Is this really a story from several thousand years ago? Or is this ourselves a few years back? Or just last year? Or last week? Or yesterday? Put yourself into your own story and bow down (Gen. 42:6b) to that One who is very much alive. Tell Him what He already knows. But unlike the brothers, don’t sugarcoat it. Put on real humility: confess and be forgiven. Thank you, Lord.
Blessings!
See also: January 14 (2023) / Genesis 41-43:15