“And he commanded the steward of [literally: “the one over”] his house, (again here we have a reference to the trusty steward of the household: an individual evidently entrusted with all matters of far-reaching consequence and great importance to Joseph; his very right-hand-man if you will: a relationship of which the value was clearly impressed upon Joseph when he himself held this position to Potiphar) saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, (again we see Joseph’s uncompromising love and desire to provide abundantly for his family – as best he is able and they can bear – in action, all the while being careful not to arouse any suspicion as to his true identity before the appointed time) and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack (again seeking not to deprive them of any resource whatsoever as far as he is able; a feat accomplished all the more easily a second time due to there having been set a precedent for doing so once before). Also put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his grain money.” (It is only here that Joseph’s judgment perhaps begins to come into question, for even though we know that we know that we know that our Beloved Lord causes all things to work together for the ultimate Good of those who Love Him and are called according to His purpose, it can be difficult – for perhaps this very reason – to ascertain whether a plan was devised by a True Child of God in the Wisdom and Divine Inspiration of The Spirit all along, or, if – as it appears to be in this case – a hasty act of desperation, even poor judgment, was merely Divinely “repurposed” for such aforementioned Good after the fact by a Loving-Kind, Longsuffering and Merciful Heavenly Father. The fact that the incriminating cup was placed in young Benjamin’s sack in particular, certainly speaks not of a desire for vengeance or ill-will against Joseph’s objectively offending other brothers, but rather of a last-ditched attempt at ensuring another opportunity to see Benjamin, even if this be by force or trap and certainly in human strength. For perhaps Joseph’s greatest error here is doubting his LORD and whether He will allow the gift of Benjamin “to keep on giving” as it were, having perhaps doubted the Goodness of God, or even blaming Him, for the manner in which he was torn from his most beloved ones the first time. Let us not forget that by generously ordering the release of Simeon almost instantly for the twofold reason of not causing any of the brothers – and more especially their father – any additional anguish and then also in order that he, Simeon, too might share in the festivities, Joseph has effectively lost the only surety he had thus far retained, save for ongoing famine and Egypt’s enduring monopoly on grain, which ensures continued contact with his family. What we absolutely cannot ignore is the manner in which the brothers, in their ignorance, essentially set the stage for this deception by releasing the potential for it in the spiritual by partnering with fear: had they not presented as guilty and fearful the first time they encountered money returned to their sacks – as opposed to peculiarly blessed and favoured – Joseph might never have imagined this plan of entrapment in the first place! If you struggle to comprehend this principle Precious Reader, you would do well simply to hold fast to the concept of “the power of suggestion” for now 😉.)  So he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. (Forever the Faithful servant he does as his master has instructed him with unquestioning obedience, but perhaps also not without himself first recognising the parallels between the hasty confession of the brothers at the door of his master’s house that previous fateful morning [i.e. their ill-conceiving- and poor interpretation of-, his master’s sincere and generous gesture implying only favour; their potential for guilt and possible defiled consciences] and this ultimately uncharacteristic new plan of deceit devised by his master as a result thereof.) As soon as the morning dawned, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys.” (For a moment I thought it peculiar that they were actively “sent away” rather than encouraged to leave of their own accord, for surely Joseph would like to have Benjamin with him for every precious moment worth sparing, but then I remembered poor Joseph’s inevitable conflict: the longer that the brothers remain with him, the longer his extended family back home, his poor elderly father especially, remain without food: their supply already having run out long past the point of reasonable bearing; one cannot help but notice how more often than not the Lord precisely arranges circumstances so – frustratingly from our point of view – perfectly so as to ensure continued Trust and wholehearted dependence upon Him alone for any and every gift, blessing and favourable result worth having [however sophisticated a plan we might conceive of in our own strength when we hope to retain a measure of control over the ultimate outcome]. On an unrelated note, I also cannot help but smile at the inclusion of the mention of the donkeys here for the benefit of all the animal-lovers enjoying the Scriptures, who, together with the brothers, feared earlier that said donkeys may be taken as animal slaves ☺).”

“¹And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack. ²Also put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his grain money.” So he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. ³As soon as the morning dawned, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys.”

– Genesis 44:1-3 (NKJV)