The One Year Chronological Study Bible - Flipbook - Page 63
page 59
GENESIS 44:18-34
Then Judah stepped forward and said, “Please,
my lord, let your servant say just one word to
you. Please, do not be angry with me, even
though you are as powerful as Pharaoh himself.
19 “My lord, previously you asked us, your servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ 20And
we responded, ‘Yes, my lord, we have a father
who is an old man, and his youngest son is a
child of his old age. His full brother is dead, and
he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his
father loves him very much.’
21 “And you said to us, ‘Bring him here so I can
see him with my own eyes.’ 22 But we said to you,
‘My lord, the boy cannot leave his father, for
his father would die.’ 23 But you told us, ‘Unless
your youngest brother comes with you, you will
never see my face again.’
24 “So we returned to your servant, our father,
and told him what you had said. 25 Later, when
he said, ‘Go back again and buy us more food,’
26 we replied, ‘We can’t go unless you let our
youngest brother go with us. We’ll never get to
see the man’s face unless our youngest brother
is with us.’
27 “Then my father said to us, ‘As you know, my
wife had two sons, 28 and one of them went away
and never returned. Doubtless he was torn to
pieces by some wild animal. I have never seen
18
44:5 As in Greek version; Hebrew lacks this phrase.
END & NEW
BEGINNING
SILENT
RETURN
CAPTIVITY
Judah Speaks for His Brothers •
MISSIONS
When his brothers were ready to leave, Joseph
gave these instructions to his palace manager:
“Fill each of their sacks with as much grain as
they can carry, and put each man’s money back
into his sack. 2 Then put my personal silver cup
at the top of the youngest brother’s sack, along
with the money for his grain.” So the manager
did as Joseph instructed him.
3 The brothers were up at dawn and were sent
on their journey with their loaded donkeys. 4 But
when they had gone only a short distance and
were barely out of the city, Joseph said to his
palace manager, “Chase after them and stop
them. When you catch up with them, ask them,
‘Why have you repaid my kindness with such
evil? 5 Why have you stolen my master’s silver
cup,* which he uses to predict the future? What
a wicked thing you have done!’”
6 When the palace manager caught up with
the men, he spoke to them as he had been instructed.
7 “What are you talking about?” the brothers
responded. “We are your servants and would
never do such a thing! 8 Didn’t we return the
money we found in our sacks? We brought it
back all the way from the land of Canaan. Why
would we steal silver or gold from your master’s
house? 9 If you find his cup with any one of us, let
that man die. And all the rest of us, my lord, will
be your slaves.”
10 “That’s fair,” the man replied. “But only the
one who stole the cup will be my slave. The rest
of you may go free.”
11 They all quickly took their sacks from the
1
CHURCH
Joseph’s Silver Cup • GENESIS 44:1-17
JANUARY 16
backs of their donkeys and opened them. 12 The
palace manager searched the brothers’ sacks,
from the oldest to the youngest. And the cup
was found in Benjamin’s sack! 13 When the
brothers saw this, they tore their clothing in
despair. Then they loaded their donkeys again
and returned to the city.
14 Joseph was still in his palace when Judah
and his brothers arrived, and they fell to the
ground before him. 15 “What have you done?”
Joseph demanded. “Don’t you know that a man
like me can predict the future?”
16 Judah answered, “Oh, my lord, what can we
say to you? How can we explain this? How can
we prove our innocence? God is punishing us
for our sins. My lord, we have all returned to be
your slaves—all of us, not just our brother who
had your cup in his sack.”
17 “No,” Joseph said. “I would never do such a
thing! Only the man who stole the cup will be
my slave. The rest of you may go back to your
father in peace.”
GOSPEL
son.” 30 Then Joseph hurried from the room because he was overcome with emotion for his
brother. He went into his private room, where
he broke down and wept. 31After washing his
face, he came back out, keeping himself under
control. Then he ordered, “Bring out the food!”
32 The waiters served Joseph at his own table,
and his brothers were served at a separate
table. The Egyptians who ate with Joseph sat
at their own table, because Egyptians despise
Hebrews and refuse to eat with them. 33 Joseph
told each of his brothers where to sit, and to
their amazement, he seated them according
to age, from oldest to youngest. 34And Joseph
filled their plates with food from his own table,
giving Benjamin five times as much as he gave
the others. So they feasted and drank freely
with him.
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