Genesis 43:15 - Meaning and Application

Jacob’s sons had finally been allowed to take Benjamin with them, so they obeyed their father and went down to Egypt a second time to buy grain. If we ever learn what a famine of God’s word feels like, we should not think it too much to travel as far for spiritual food as they did for food for their bodies.

Here we are told what happened between them and Joseph’s steward. Some think the steward was in on the secret and knew they were Joseph’s brothers, helping Joseph carry out the plan. I do not think so, because no one was allowed to be there when Joseph later made himself known to them (Genesis 45:1). Joseph had told his steward to bring them to his house and prepare a meal for them, while he stayed busy selling grain and taking payment. Even though Benjamin was there, Joseph did not leave his work during working hours, nor did he hand it off to someone else. Business must come before courtesy at the proper time. Our necessary duties must not be neglected, even to show respect to friends.

Even this made the brothers afraid. They thought they had been brought into Joseph’s house because something bad was about to happen to them (Genesis 43:18). Their guilty consciences, along with Joseph’s harsh suspicion of them, made them expect no kindness. They assumed they would be confronted about the money in their sacks and accused of cheating, as if they had taken advantage of the rush in the market to carry away grain without paying. So they told the steward about the money, so that he could stand between them and danger. And as clear proof of their honesty, they produced the money before anyone even charged them with taking it back. Integrity and uprightness will protect us, and they will show themselves clearly, like the light of morning.

The steward comforted them, saying, “Peace to you, do not be afraid” (Genesis 43:23). He did not know Joseph’s full purpose, but he knew Joseph meant them no harm while he kept them waiting. So he pointed them to God’s providence in the return of their money: “Your God, and the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks.” This showed that he had no suspicion of dishonesty, because we cannot call something God’s gift if we got it by deceit. It also ended their questions about it. In effect, he was saying, “Do not ask how it got there. Providence brought it to you, and that should be enough.”

His words also show that, through his good master’s teaching, he had come to know the true God, the God of the Hebrews. People who serve in religious households should take every fitting chance to speak about God and his providence with reverence and seriousness. He directed them to look up to God and recognize his care in the good bargain they had made. We must admit that we owe all our success, our advantages, and the kindness of our friends to God, as our God and the God of our fathers, a God in covenant, or binding promise, with us and them. Every creature is only what God makes it to be for us. The steward did not encourage them only with words, but also with deeds, for he treated them very kindly until his master came (Genesis 43:24).