Israel was hesitant to send Benjamin down to Egypt with his brothers. When he faced their dwindling food supply and the threat of starvation he found that he had no choice. Surely he must have been begging his God to save him from the threat of losing Benjamin. Eventually he relented. In 43:14 Israel prayed for mercy before “the man” in Egypt. Mercy from his own son. The prayer was answered twenty some years before it left Israel’s mouth. God had spent the years forging Joseph’s heart into a mercy turbo charged engine. When Israel was asking for mercy God was planning in Joseph’s heart blessing upon blessings. I don’t think Joseph’s deception was intended to punish his brothers, but to see if their hearts had grown any softer in the two decades he had been absent. I picture old Israel watching with longs the caravan that took his ten sons down to Egypt. I imagine his following them until he could walk no further and watching until the horizon eclipsed them from his sight. The days of their absence must have been horrifically painful, and each night a test of faith. I could see the old eyes lifted often to the hill where Israel last saw his family; anticipating the day when they would crest the hill again. I wonder what filled his mind when the caravan returned; not just 10 men and their donkeys, but 11 men with donkeys and wagons with their teams of oxen. And then to hear the news that Joseph was alive and for the LORD to speak with him and tell him to travel to Egypt. What a day that must have been for Israel.
It took me about 20 minutes to read this passage.
Stuart
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