Genesis 43:16

Genesis 43:16 says, And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon.  Joseph's reaction when he saw Benjamin with his other brothers was not that of a vindictive man.  He basically told the one in charge of his house to prepare a feast and bring these men, his brothers, to share it with him.  Like Joseph with his brothers coming to him, as followers of Christ, even if someone has harmed us, we should rejoice if they come to Christ, thereby becoming our brother's and sisters in Christ.  Verse seventeen states, And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house.  This was also not the welcome Joseph's brothers had anticipated.  They were simply hoping to get some corn, get Simeon, and get out alive.  We should never be surprised when God blesses us with more than we are expecting.  Verse eighteen adds, 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.  The brothers thought they were being brought to Joseph because of the money that had been found in their sacks and they were afraid Joseph was going to make them slaves.  When we come to Christ, even though we are guilty of sin, He does not wait to enslave and punish us, but to set us free from the penalty of sin, so we should never have a reason to fear God after we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse nineteen declares, And they came near to the steward of Joseph’s house, and they communed with him at the door of the house,  The brothers first talked with the steward of Joseph's house, but he really wouldn't have been be able to tell them why they were there.  Joseph was the only one who could calm their fears.  When someone comes to us to ask about salvation, we may be able to point them to Christ, but ultimately that person must go to Christ personally in order to be saved.  Verse twenty adds, And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:  The brothers began to state their case, evidently now speaking to Joseph.  We may proclaim our innocence to everyone in the world, but it is God that we have to speak to, and when we do, though we may not be guilty of one particular thing, we are still guilty of sin in our life.  Joseph's brothers may not have been guilty of what they were worried about, but they were guilty of so much worse.  Verse twenty-one continues, 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.  The brothers said that when they were returned home and opened their sacks that they found the money, and they returned it.  Of course, this was only after they ran out of corn again.  They should already have been back.  We may often live in fear simply because we refuse to seek God's guidance until the last resort.  Had Joseph's brothers returned as they were supposed to, they could have saved themselves a lot of worry.  Verse twenty-two concludes, And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks.  The brothers said they were bringing back the original money and money to buy more, but that they didn't know how the money got in their sacks to start with.  Of course, we cannot proclaim ourselves innocent before God, because we have to acknowledge all sin in our lives and not just particular ones that we may not be guilty of.  We also have to acknowledge that we cannot buy God's forgiveness as the brothers were attempting to buy Joseph's forgiveness.  Verse twenty-three states, 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.  Joseph told his brothers not to worry and that their God and the God of their father was behind their money being returned.  As followers of Christ, we should never have to have someone else point out that God is with us, no matter how bad the situation we are in may be.  During this whole ordeal, we do not see the brothers, nor their father, asking God for guidance.  Our first action in any situation should be to seek God's guidance.