Then their father Israel said to them, "If it must be, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift—a little balm and a little honey, some spices and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds. – Genesis 43:11

Today's Scripture Reading (September 10, 2021): Genesis 43

Habits and behavior patterns are hard to change because they worked at some point in the past, at least for a time. The way that we handled problems and stress in the past is likely the way we will do it in the future. We just aren't all that original. And it is not just us. Neil Anderson argues that the Satanic influences on our lives, and churches, often play the same cards repeatedly. If it worked in the past, why wouldn't it work now? The things that we are tempted by yesterday will likely still attract us today. This principle is why the past becomes such an anchor in our lives; it weighs us down to the point where it is hard to move into the future.

Jacob tells his sons to take gifts with them for the official in Egypt. Why? Because regardless of the fact that it was an accident, or more precisely a set-up, the official believed that Jacob's sons had stolen something of value from him. The family of Israel had deceived him. And this was not a new position for Jacob, something that he had never experienced; he had been here before. When he was younger, Jacob had stolen a blessing from his brother, Esau, and deceived his father, Isaac. As a result of his deception, Jacob had to run from his family's anger, especially his brother's fury. For the next two decades, he couldn't go home, but when he finally did return home, he sent his brother a lot of gifts to smooth over his past sins.

And now, Jacob was using the same playbook. Yes, his sons would take both the money that the official thought they had stolen from him, plus the money for the new food, but they would also take gifts with them to smooth over the reunion and pay for past indiscretions.

The surprising thing is that while Jacob is repeating his behavior, there is actually no evidence that the conduct actually did work. With Esau, it was likely more a function of time and the fact that Esau had been blessed and was successful that had smoothed out the waters of the relationship. Esau wanted to restore his relationship with Jacob as much as Jacob wished to restore his relationship with Esau. And in Egypt, there was another brother that was waiting to repair his relationships with his brothers. Joseph wasn't interested in receiving the gifts; he just wanted the relationship he had lost with his family.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 44