Seventh Day Baptist
Christian Education Council
PO BOX 1678
Janesville, WI 53547
—Genesis 43:1-15
by: Linda Harris.
Once again we see the family trait of deception at work. Jacob thought his sons should have lied about Benjamin. They claimed Joseph pried out that information from them. Actually, they offered the information without Joseph’s prompting (42:13).
Judah took responsibility for Benjamin. Earlier, Reuben tried this (42:37), but Jacob, still in denial, refused to listen. He gave up on Simeon (42:36), counting him as dead, as he thought Joseph was. When Jacob relented, he resorted to manipulation, sending gifts to Egypt, in the same way he sent gifts to Esau (Genesis 32:3-5). Jacob didn’t trust God to bring favor to his family. How often do we manipulate the circumstances instead of trusting God?