Gen. 43:31-3431And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread. 32And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians. 33And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another. 34And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him. (Genesis 43:31‑34)
“And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread. And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves.” vv. 31, 32. At Joseph’s command the steward had previously released Simeon from prison as soon as it was learned that Benjamin was with his brothers. Thus all the sons were present at the table—a picture of the coming day when the whole house of Israel, now scattered throughout the world, will again be one people.
There were, however, two things lacking in this unity. The father was not present; and Joseph, although in the same room with the others, could not yet invite them to sit at his table. There was still unjudged guilt with all of them (except Benjamin, who had had no part in Joseph’s rejection), and full communion with Joseph was not possible. The uniting of the father and all the brethren as one family must await the time of their full restoration. “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.” Ps. 24: 3-5. The brethren required that cleansing and purifying of their hearts before they could be at ease and draw nigh to Joseph.
Joseph had instructed the steward as to the seating of his guests and they found themselves all in proper sequence from Reuben the eldest, to Benjamin the youngest. They, of course, were amazed at this, marveling more and more at this man who, seemed to know all about them.
As the portions of food were brought to the table it would be noticed by all that Benjamin’s portion was five times that of the others. Joseph’s special affection toward him was thus outwardly expressed, for he evidently intended to do for this much-loved brother “abundantly above all that (he) could ask or think.” The brothers may also have sensed in these favors to Benjamin the remarkable insight of their host, for they well knew that although Benjamin was seated at the table with them, he was innocent of any guilt and evil deeds toward their brother Joseph, that marked them.
Nonetheless, Joseph was gracious towards them all. Having invited them into his house, he not only prided a bountiful repast for them, but put them at ease for the time being. As these men were later to look back on this pleasant experience, perhaps it served as a further awakening of conscience and awareness of how their lives had been impoverished by their sinful behavior pointing out, as it did, what their true character as sons of Jacob should have been at all times.
Memory Verse: “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy trans-gressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins.” Isa. 44:2222I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee. (Isaiah 44:22).
ML 09/03/1967