As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man's sack was his pouch of silver! When they and their father saw the money pouches, they were frightened. – Genesis 42:35

Today's Scripture Reading (October 23, 2024): Genesis 42

I have a mystery in my life. My wife and I had some major home upgrades done on our home. Our original plan was to have the work done and use an interest-free government loan to pay for the job. But the road to the government loan ended up being convoluted, and I missed a filing deadline, so we decided just to pay for the work out of our savings. Luckily, we had the money, so it really wasn't a big deal.

The day came to pay the bill, but there was a glitch online, and we could not pay what was owed. But then, the bill was unexpectedly paid, but the money was still in my bank account. I think what happened was that the ten-year government loan came through even though my application was submitted late, and I now owe the government for the work, but so far, I have been unable to confirm that conclusion. So, I will keep writing emails and seek out whoever I owe the money to.

The sons of Jacob had a similar mystery on their hands. They had gone to Egypt and met with an Egyptian official in an attempt to buy food. While there, they had been interrogated. They had been accused of being spies for a foreign power, and their backstories were questioned. As a result of all of this, the official had agreed to sell them food but had required that one of the brothers, Simeon, remain behind as a hostage on the condition that the brothers would return with the one brother that they had not brought with them on the original trip. The ruse was that returning with the missing brother would prove they were a family, not spies of a rival power. What the brothers missed was that this Egyptian official was actually their brother Joseph, and the missing brother was Joseph's only full brother, Benjamin. Joseph's real question was whether his half-brothers had learned their lesson or were they treating Benjamin with the same contempt they had treated him.

None of this the brothers knew. So, when they discover that they have returned home with both the food and the money, they know that it made them look like thieves. Now, there was no way that they could go back to Egypt to get Simeon. There would be a price on their heads, and they believed they would be arrested as soon as they showed their faces. And that was enough to frighten any of us.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 43