Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 47:13-14

13 And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.

14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house.

Here we have the first of a three-part sequence, each part showing greater and greater power given over to Egypt. Indeed, the pattern has a sort of fairy tale/storybook quality to it.

In this first sequence we hear that Joseph sold corn until all the money in the land had changed over to the Pharaoh’s hands. At this point the Pharaoh was essentially the bank for the entire nation, the only one who possessed valid currency.

Of course, there are other forms of wealth than just tokens of money, and we will hear about those next.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 43:19-23

19 And they came near to the steward of Joseph’s house, and they communed with him at the door of the house,

20 And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:

21 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.

22 And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks.

23 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.

Jacob’s sons were so afraid to enter Joseph’s home, that they wouldn’t cross the threshold until they had made their case to his steward. There has been no insinuation or accusation brought against them, but they take the initiative and admit in advance that their money was somehow returned to their sacks of grain last time, and they now offer it all back again. Perhaps this forthrightness is driven more by fear than integrity, but it still shows them in a better light than if they had tried to conceal things.

As for the steward, he must have been let in on some of Joseph’s plot beforehand. He claims that there was no money missing on their end, it must have been some miraculous blessing that provided the extra treasure in their sacks. Then, to further show the brothers that all is well, the steward fetches Simeon from the prison and family is finally reunited.

Thus begins an experience that will be totally opposite to the brothers’ visit to Egypt. Whereas everything seemed to go wrong for them beforehand everything is now going right!

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 42:35

35 And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.

One of the brothers had opened his sack of grain on the way home and found his money restored, but apparently the others did not check theirs until they were all gathered before their faither. Now they see that all of them have had their money returned to them and it fills them with dread.

On the one hand, they might rightly assume that this is a trick by that suspicious head Egyptian, Zaphnath-paaneah, who sold them the grain. And based on his attitude towards the brothers earlier, it would seem likely Zaphnath had done this to entrap them, rather than as a kindness. Indeed, they will suggest as much in the very next chapter.

Or, on the other hand, it might have ended up in their grain as a mistake, in which case the Egyptians might have found the imbalance in their ledgers, and then they might assume the brothers had somehow stolen their money back again. In either case, the presence of this money is a disturbing turn of events, giving the Egyptians ample reason to persecute them further.

The prospect of going back to Egypt thus becomes so distasteful, that they won’t even attempt it until they are once again at starvation’s door in the next chapter. Indeed, if it weren’t for the shadow of death upon them, perhaps Simeon would never have been retrieved. He would have been left by his brothers to rot in prison, just as Joseph.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 14:21-24

21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.

22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,

23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:

24 Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

Sometimes you do something simply because it’s the right thing to do, which makes it a holy act, unless you later accept a worldly reward for it. This was the case with Abram when he rescued his nephew Lot. He was lifting his hand “unto the Lord,” and did not want to tarnish the sanctity of the moment by turning it into an exchange of monetary wealth for services rendered.

Ten years ago I was having trouble with an external hard drive, and I asked the owner of an internet café if he knew anything about them. He spent twenty minutes working on it, then came back with the hard drive installed in a new enclosure and working perfectly. When I asked him how much I owed him he just shook his head and said “not everything has to be for money.” And just like that, an ordinary business transaction instead became a moment of kindness that I will never forget.

There is nothing wrong with running a business and making a profit, but there’s something about acts of service and kindness that makes the inclusion of money immoral.