Then he commanded the steward of his house, “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,
Joseph, now ruler in Egypt, has just eaten with the brothers who sold him years earlier, and none of them know who he is. Before they leave, he gives his steward a private order about their sacks. The kindness in that order is the opening move of a test.
A command that looks only like generosity
The order is all about giving: full sacks, and each man's money slipped back where he will find it. Commentators read this as planned strategy, not sentiment.
L. M. GrantJoseph now shows his wisdom in a way that leads his brothers to repentance without accusing them. He told his steward to fill the brothers' sacks with food and put their money back in their sacks again (v. 1). But he also tells him to put his own silver cup into the mouth of Benjamin's sack. The next morning they were on their way, no doubt glad that this time everything had gone so well.
Why a further test was needed at all
The brothers had already felt their guilt over Joseph. So why put them through more?
F. B. HoleTheir consciences had already been stirred, as we saw when reading Genesis 42:21, but the work of repentance needed to go deeper still. So Joseph deals with them further in Genesis 44.
The aim was not only to expose the old crime but to find out what they had become.
William KellyIn God's moral government the brothers had to be searched even more thoroughly. Joseph is His instrument in devising a still harder test. It was meant not only to carry their self-judgment as far as it could go, but also to prove that their love for their father and their brother was now real and warm — after they had once been so deeply guilty toward both. In this way love joined righteousness in working for their best good.
The money they had already learned to fear
This is the second time their money goes back into the sacks. The first time, it did not produce thanks. It frightened them.
William KellyBut Joseph followed up what he had begun. He directed that each man's money go back into his own sack. He wanted to deepen the work in them, past a mere sense of payback for the evil they had done to him. Food for the journey alone might not have had that effect. But money given back would strike them as nothing like an ordinary sale or an ordinary human act… A bad conscience brought God before them. Why else would this ruler act so kindly — a man who suspected they were spies, held one brother in custody, and firmly demanded the one son their father loved so dearly?
One writer sees in that reaction a picture of how people still respond to unearned kindness from God.
Leslie M. GrantBoth they and their father were afraid instead of thankful, because they suspected some hidden motive behind it. People are generally like this. They suspect there must be some "catch" when the free grace of God in Christ Jesus is preached.
The steward's place in the story
The verse names the steward, but the plan is not his.
James BoydThe chief steward did that which his lord told him to do. He had no authority to exercise his own judgment.
How severe the test really was
The shock ahead was real. But the writers weigh it against both its purpose and its length.
William KellyJoseph, a picture of Christ, was here to carry out the probing that was needed. It would clear away all the past wrong and form a new heart and a new spirit in his brothers… After all, the pain of the method used was very short — no more than a few hours, compared with what Joseph himself drank so deeply for years. And the same day brought forgiveness, joy and tender love.
A rehearsal of something still future
These chapters carry more than family history. They sketch how God brings people to repentance, and how He will deal with Israel.
Michael HardtIn Genesis 42 to 44, Joseph's brothers picture the twelve tribes of Israel (including Judah) in their future restoration, when they will be brought to accept the rejected but true Joseph. Their story also brings to light certain principles about the work of restoration and about what true repentance is.
Summary
- Full sacks. Joseph's order gives them more than they asked for: food to the brim and their money back. All of it aims at their hearts.
- Hidden hook. The same delivery that fed them carried the test. It would lead them to repentance without a word of accusation.
- Uneasy grace. Unearned kindness frightens a guilty conscience. People still suspect a catch when God offers free grace.
- Deeper work. Regret had already surfaced in chapter 42. Repentance had to go deeper before Joseph could reveal himself.
- Short pain. The distress lasted hours; Joseph had borne years. Forgiveness and love came the same day.