“So Judah (notice the subtle nod to the Genetic Line of God’s People and position as the Oldest Brother of our Beloved King Jesus through these veiled references in the name Judah that here represents both of these elements; acknowledging the Hope of things to come)  and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, and he was still there; (i.e. he had not resumed his ruling and reigning duties elsewhere: perhaps surprisingly so from the perspective of the brothers, but in anxious anticipation of having Benjamin returned to him of course – i.e. to discover if his plan had succeeded – from Joseph’s point of view) and they fell before him on the ground. (What we recognise here is not sycophancy, but the posture of desperate men knowing that they find themselves wholly at the mercy of one man: a beautiful picture of Joseph as a representative of Christ, both Perfect Saviour and Perfect Judge. How fortunate these man are, albeit unbeknownst to them, to be at the mercy of not only such a Godly man, but a member of their very own family: let us never forget therefore that even once we stand before our King at the Great White Throne Judgment, we are not only standing before a Perfect, Merciful, Long-suffering, Kind and Gentle Judge, the one who has taken our blame upon Himself in the greatest expression of Love the world has ever seen, but we are also standing before our very own Eldest Brother, having been re-born into the very household of God.) And Joseph said to them, “What deed is this you have done? (Is Joseph hoping to drive the Fear of God into these men? Is he revelling in the power he olds over them in remembrance of the pain they have caused him when they were in a position of power over him as a young lad? Is Joseph acting in the flesh from a place of woundedness, having already stepped outside of the Perfect Will of God as soon as this plan was set into motion? For surely a Godly man perfectly aligned to Truth and in Harmony with the Holy Spirit could not ask such an accusatory question of men he himself knows to be wholly innocent of at least this particular transgression – for is accusation not inherently a characteristic of the devil? These are valid questions that do beg being answered in these moments.) Did you not know that such a man as I can certainly practice divination?” (Again I am prompted to ask: Is Joseph hoping to drive the Fear of God into these men? For what Joseph is essentially purporting here is the fact that a man in a position of such great power as he is did not come to be that way without significant help from the supernatural realm; and of course we know this to be true for he was promoted to that position for a very specific reason by The Most High God, The One True God, God Almighty, The Great I AM, El Shaddai Himself. Unable however to divulge his Hebrew identity at present he confronts them with an allusion to the supernatural backing he enjoys from an Egyptian, pagan point of view, which, on the other hand, if one is not in covenant with the God of Israel, is not to be esteemed lightly as it is very real, powerful and dangerous in its own right. Whether deliberately or not, Joseph is undoubtedly causing the brothers to ponder what they truly believe – do they truly believe that the God of their Fathers is with them and can protect them against the “gods” of Egypt?) Then Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves?  (Judah cannot possibly know whether or not young Benjamin actually did take the cup or if the same force that caused their money to be returned to their sacks the first time, together with the ultimate motivation behind said force, is at play here. He is furthermore humble enough to recognise that any means of evading judgment by way of explanation or other form of defence is futile at this point. Judah is effectively handing over their fate into the hands of God in full surrender and acknowledgment of their utter helplessness, vulnerability and dependence upon His mercy in these moments, also think Romans 7:24-25A. So to answer the question posited twice in the above, whether Joseph intended to or not, he has managed to strike the Fear of God into these men and the glorious Wisdom that will inevitably begin to take shape from this moment on [Proverbs 9:10] is about to become manifest. And so dear friends let us rejoice in seeing how our Wonderful God makes all things work together – even, or perhaps especially, despite Joseph’s ill-advised plan outside of His Will – for those who are called according to His purpose.) God has found out the iniquity of your servants; (I believe Judah is not here confessing their current offense, convinced surely that they are innocent and that God of course knows this, no, he is finally in the process of acknowledging their age-old collective sin “before God and man”, yielding to the knowledge that the predicament they find themselves in currently can only be the consequence of that great trespass that has haunted their lives for so many years, now finally coming to pass in an ultimate sense. By acknowledging the supernatural realm in his reference to divination, Joseph has effectively set the stage for Judah too to acknowledge that it is most probably the hand of God that is bearing down heavily upon them now because of what they had done to Joseph all those many years ago; ironically the very Joseph they find themselves before in these very moments. I also cannot help but be intrigued by the phrase “God has found out” – does this point to Judah’s esteeming God’s omniscience and omnipotence lightly, pointing towards his present spiritual immaturity or does this point to his own feelings of insignificance and unworthiness to be known and seen by God, the very El Roi of Israel? How does this make you feel Beloved Reader?) here we are, my lord’s slaves, both we and he (notice how Judah is wholly unaware of Benjamin’s significance to Joseph, referring to him simply as “he”, unable even to imagine that Joseph should remember any of their names) also with whom the cup was found.” (Again here we once again recognise the words of a man fully surrendered, having come to the end of himself, humbly accepting his fate, even acknowledging defeat in his best attempts at returning young Benjamin to his father unharmed, as he now offers up even his life as penance for their age-old sin. For how at this point of culmination can it be otherwise?) But he said, “Far be it from me that I [Joseph] should do so; (Joseph is not only awarding Judah the gift of freedom but a glimmer of Hope in reminding him of his own character – that he is not a merciless and cruel, hard man, but a fair one who does not “harvest where he has not sown and gather where he has not scattered seed” [Matthew 25], and there is consequently reason to keep hoping that he might show them additional kindnesses and concessions yet) the man in whose hand the cup was found, he shall be my slave. And as for you, go up in peace to your father.” (The momentary relief of being able to return to their father with an ample food supply to stave off starvation & securing his own freedom and that of most of his other brothers, must have been fleeting and bittersweet, only to be replaced by the remembrance and consequent tormenting anguish of the vow he made to his father should he [Judah] return without Benjamin. The knowledge of the fact that the very age-old sin that caused this predicament now seems to have cruelly come full circle must have been unbearable, as Judah now finds himself in the horrifying position where he is essentially committing the same terrible act against his father twice: namely taking his beloved youngest son by his most beloved wife Rachel from him, only this time without his, Judah’s, consent; effectively allowing the very same thing he must have promised himself would never ever ever happen again on his watch, to take place once more. Oh dear friends let us not play with the gravest sins: let this be a warning to us of the decade’s long devastation it is capable of rendering unto us! Joseph on the other hand seems to have been successful in his plan: he can rest easy that his beloved father and extended family will be fed and provided for amply as most of the brothers are now able to return with many sacks of grain and all of their funds intact, and his beloved Benjamin is able to remain with him, which is after all what he desires most. One is truly saddened by the fact that Joseph surely must have recognised how selfish he is being by keeping Benjamin to himself, knowing what anguish it will inevitably cause his father, for does he not remember how much his father loved him himself as a young boy? Did he never ponder the anguish his being taken from him must have caused him? Does he not recognise that by not allowing Benjamin to return he will injure him in much the same way? One also cannot help but wonder if the gloriously happy, prosperous life Joseph has been enjoying these past many years has rendered him slightly apathetic, even luring him away from the most intimate union with- and abiding in- the Lord we maintain all the more easily during times of hardship . . . )

“¹⁴So Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, and he was still there; and they fell before him on the ground. ¹⁵And Joseph said to them, “What deed is this you have done?” Did you not know that such a man as I can certainly practice divination?”

¹⁶Then Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; here we are, my lord’s slaves, both we and he also with whom the cup was found.”

¹⁷But he said, “Far be it from me that I should do so; the man in whose hand the cup was found, he shall be my slave. And as for you, go up in peace to your father.”

– Genesis 44:14-17 (NKJV)