6 February

Genesis 37-50 was a very interesting story. After being sold into slavery in Egypt by his own family, Joseph eventually comes in contact with his brothers once again. Without knowing that the man who is giving them food is their brother Joseph, the brothers happily accept the food and money that Joseph gives them in a time of need. The fact that this man helping out the brothers was Joseph wasn’t the only thing the brothers were unaware of; Joseph also planted the silver cup in Benjamin’s sack, the youngest brother in the family. I believe that Joseph’s motivation for planting the cup in Benjamin’s sack was to see if the character of his family members has changed for the better since he has been in Egypt. Joseph felt that if his brothers had changed, then maybe the family with be reunited and live in harmony like they should currently be doing. Finally, Judah speaks up and tells Joseph that he will pledge his own life in place of the adored child Benjamin. Joseph is then moved to tears by Judah’s love for the youngest brother, and the envy of his brothers had completely disappeared.

This entire story relates to Joseph’s status as the beloved son in a few different ways. I believe that Joseph’s beloved son status was represented through his ability to search for peace with his family. The action of planting the cup in Benjamin’s bag was in his master plan of reuniting with his brothers; he was the mediator in this situation. He could’ve planted the cup for vengeance on his family, but that is the opposite of what he did. Also, when speaking to his brothers after he reveals his identity to them, he tells them not to blame themselves for selling him to Egypt. He tells them that it was truly God who sent him to Egypt so that he can help change people’s lives. Only a beloved son would have this type of positive and forgiving mindset.