Genesis 44 - Summary

Outline - "Judah's Appeal"

v1-5

Joseph instructed his clerk in the plot to frame Benjamin

v6-10

the brothers spoke brashly because they didn't know what was going to happen

v11-14

how must they have felt when the cup was found?

v15-17

...God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants... (v16b)

v18-31

Judah, gently but thoroughly, repeated their story to Joseph, and appealed to him

v32-34

Judah treated Benjamin the way he should have treated Joseph

Key

v16

And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we [are] my lord's servants, both we, and [he] also with whom the cup is found.

They might have known that he was framing them, but he had so much power, what could they have done about that anyway? And they knew they were still guilty about their brother Joseph.

In a way, they were doing what was right, and the problem was really Joseph's fault. So they could have argued and tried to defend themselves, but that would have been stupid because Joseph was the big Kahuna, and they just would have gotten into more trouble.

Their humility saved them, and we should be humble like that. We should choose our battles; and, sometimes, we need to be willing let go of our rights.

Application

v18

Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou [art] even as Pharaoh.

Sometimes we need to appeal to the people who are in authority over us. Judah was a good example in this case, of appealing gently and humbly. I especially noticed that Judah simply but thoroughly told the whole story, so that Joseph would understand everything that was going on.

Sometimes, when we communicate with other people, we assume they know something, so we don't bother to say it, but they get angry because they misunderstand. When we appeal to people about things, we shouldn't talk too much or go on too long; but, at the same time, we should make sure that we're thorough enough about the important things, so they don't misunderstand. I'll work on doing that.