Weird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Thirty-Nine

Weird is the New Normal:  A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis
 
Weird – “of strange or extraordinary character.”
Normal – “conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern”
  • Merriam Webster
Day Thirty-Nine – “How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still living? Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?”  - Joseph (Gen. 43: 27, 29)
I realize that we have more than one question today, but they are all from the same “scene.” Let’s set the scene: Jacob was devastated to learn what had happened to his sons in Egypt, and that Simeon was being held hostage until they brought back their youngest brother. He basically said, “I can’t take one more loss, or it will kill me!” So, they didn’t take Benjamin back to Egypt right away. 
Meanwhile, the famine continued, and they eventually ran out of the grain that they had brought back from Egypt. Jacob said to his sons, “Go back to Egypt and buy us some more grain.” And Judah replied, “The man warned us solemnly, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’ If you will send our brother along with us, we will go down and buy food for you. But if you will not send him, we will not go down…” (Gen. 43: 3-5) After some back-and-forth with his sons, Jacob finally agreed to let them take Benjamin. He had them take double the silver to pay for the grain, along with special gifts for this “harsh” Egyptian governor. 
The brothers arrived in Egypt and Joseph got the first glimpse of his younger brother, Benjamin.  It had been years! Joseph had his steward take the brothers to his own house…which freaked them out a little bit.  They thought they were being taken there because of the whole “silver in the sacks” incident. To hedge their bets a little bit, they told Joseph’s steward about finding the silver in their sacks on the way home, and that they honestly didn’t know how it got there! The steward replied, “Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver.” (Gen. 43: 23) This just keeps getting weirder and weirder!
The steward then brought Simeon out, and now all 11 brothers were together at Joseph’s house. When Joseph got there, they presented him with the gifts they had brought, and bowed down at his feet. Do you have the scene in your mind now? Here come the questions for today. Joseph asked first about their elderly father. They said, “Your servant our father is still alive and well.” And they bowed again. Then Joseph looked at Benjamin, his own mother’s son. Is this the youngest brother? Joseph then had to run from the room and find a place to weep.
Reflection:  When was the last time you cried?  Were you ever told growing up, “Big boys (girls) don’t cry?”
Action: Read John 11: 35.  Write in your journal your thoughts on why Jesus wept.

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