Genesis 43:18-25 "And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses. And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they communed with him at the door of the house, and said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food: And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand. And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks. And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them. And the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender. And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there."
When Joseph saw that his older brothers had brought his younger brother (Benjamin) with them as instructed, he told the steward of his house to bring them to dine with him at noon. Rather than easing their minds, this caused Jospeh’s brothers great turmoil. Even though they did not yet realize that this was their brother Joseph, they were still plagued with guilt over the way they had mistreated him all those years ago. Add to that the fact that they had returned from their previous trip to find the money they had paid for the corn with was in their sacks, and these men were very afraid.
As far as they knew, their brother Simeon was still a prisoner. Now the found themselves in a position where they feared they would not be able to return Benjamin to Israel as they had pledged. In fact, they were sure that they had been invited to dine with this man because he intended to exact a penalty from them. Their expectation was to be made slaves in Egypt.
This moved them to go to the steward of the house and confess to them the situation concerning the money. Can you imagine the relief and the confusion that must have come over them when the steward began to share with them the truth? His first words to them were that they should be at peace. Then he assured them that it was by the hand of God that they had their money returned to them. The steward even told them, “I had your money.,” and then he delivered Simeon to them.
We are all guilty of transgression against God. This guilt will often cause us to fear being called to His table. Sometimes, even unexpected blessings that we have received may cause us to be afraid of what is coming next because we realize that we do not deserve goodness at God’s hand. It is always amazing for the Spirit to impart unto us God’s peace and grace when we know we do not deserve it. May we always be ready to acknowledge that it is God who gives us treasure in our sacks and be ready to give Him the present of the best that our land (lives) has to offer.