The Test of the Silver Cup

The journey back to Canaan was one of the most difficult of the brothers’ lives. Not only did they have to tell their father that one of his sons was being held prisoner in Egypt, but they also had to convince him to send Benjamin – his beloved youngest son and the only remaining child of his favorite wife – back to Egypt with them.

When they arrived home and poured out their grain sacks, they were shocked to discover that their money had been returned to them. Each brother found his silver in the mouth of his sack.

“What is this?” Ibrahim asked when they showed him the returned money.

“We don’t know, father,” Reuben replied honestly. “We paid for the grain, but somehow our money was returned.”

As they told Ibrahim about their encounter with the Egyptian official, the old man’s face grew more and more troubled.

“You’re telling me that Simeon is imprisoned in Egypt, and this Egyptian lord demands that you bring Benjamin back with you?” Ibrahim shook his head. “I have already lost Yusuf. Now you tell me Simeon is gone too. And you want to take Benjamin? Everything is going against me!”

Reuben tried to persuade his father. “I will guarantee Benjamin’s safety with my own life. You may kill my two sons if I don’t bring him back to you safely.”

But Ibrahim was adamant. “My son will not go down with you. His brother is dead, and he is the only one left from his mother. If harm comes to him on the journey, you would bring my gray hair down to the grave in sorrow.”

For months, they lived off the grain they had brought from Egypt. But as the famine continued with no relief in sight, their supplies began to run low again.

Finally, when their food was nearly gone, Ibrahim realized they had no choice.

“Go back to Egypt and buy us a little more food,” he told his sons.

Judah stepped forward. “Father, the Egyptian official warned us solemnly that we would not see his face unless our brother Benjamin was with us. If you will send Benjamin along with us, we will go down and buy food. But if you will not send him, we will not go, because the man said we would not see his face without Benjamin.”

Ibrahim was torn with anguish. “Why did you tell the man you had another brother?”

“He questioned us closely about ourselves and our family,” Judah explained. “‘Is your father still living? Do you have another brother?’ We simply answered his questions. How were we to know he would say, ‘Bring your brother down here’?”

Finally, Judah made a promise that convinced their father. “I myself will guarantee Benjamin’s safety. You can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life.”

Reluctantly, Ibrahim agreed. He prepared gifts for the Egyptian official – some of the best products of their land: balm, honey, spices, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. He also told them to take double the amount of money, including the silver that had been returned in their sacks.

“Perhaps it was a mistake,” he said hopefully.

As the brothers prepared to leave, taking Benjamin with them, Ibrahim blessed them with tears in his eyes. “May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”

The journey back to Egypt was tense and emotional. Benjamin, now in his early twenties, was excited about the adventure but also nervous about meeting this powerful Egyptian who had detained Simeon. The older brothers were worried about what would happen when they arrived.

When they reached Memphis and were brought before Yusuf again, he immediately noticed Benjamin among them. His heart leaped with joy at seeing his full brother – the only other son of his mother Rachel – but he kept his emotions carefully controlled.

“Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?” he asked through his interpreter.

“Yes, my lord,” Judah replied.

Yusuf looked at Benjamin – tall, handsome, and bearing a strong resemblance to their mother. The sight of his beloved younger brother nearly overwhelmed him with emotion.

“God be gracious to you, my son,” he said in Egyptian.

The words were so filled with genuine affection that even the interpreter was surprised by the official’s warmth toward this young foreigner.

Yusuf quickly excused himself and went to his private chamber, where he wept freely. When he had composed himself, he returned and ordered that a feast be prepared.

“Release the prisoner Simeon and bring him here,” he commanded. “These men will dine with me today.”

The brothers were amazed by this unexpected hospitality. They were seated at a separate table from Yusuf (as was proper for Egyptians dining with Hebrews), but they were served the finest food and wine. Benjamin’s portion was five times larger than anyone else’s, showing special favor.

During the meal, Yusuf watched his brothers carefully. How did they treat Benjamin? Were they jealous of the special attention he was receiving, as they had been jealous of Yusuf years ago? Or had they learned something from their past mistakes?

He was pleased to see that the brothers seemed genuinely happy for Benjamin’s good fortune. They laughed and celebrated together, showing no signs of the jealousy that had once torn their family apart.

After the meal, Yusuf gave secret instructions to his household steward. “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s silver back in the mouth of his sack. But put my silver cup – my personal divination cup – in the sack of the youngest one, along with the silver for his grain.”

The next morning, the brothers left the city in high spirits. They had secured more grain, Simeon had been released, and Benjamin was safe. Everything seemed to be going perfectly.

But they hadn’t gone far when they heard the sound of horses and chariots behind them. Yusuf’s steward was approaching with a contingent of guards.

“Stop!” the steward called out. “Why have you repaid good with evil? Why have you stolen my master’s silver cup?”

The brothers were stunned. “What are you talking about? We would never steal anything from your master!”

“My master’s personal cup is missing. It was in his dining room last night, and now it’s gone. You were the only foreigners in the house.”

“Search our sacks,” Judah said confidently. “If you find this cup with any of us, that person shall die, and the rest of us will be your slaves.”

“Very well,” the steward replied. “But whoever has the cup will become my master’s slave, and the rest of you will be free to go.”

The steward searched each sack, starting with the eldest and working down to the youngest. The brothers watched confidently as sack after sack was searched and nothing was found.

But when he opened Benjamin’s sack, there at the top was Yusuf’s silver cup, gleaming in the sunlight.

The brothers were horrified. They tore their clothes in anguish and loaded their donkeys again to return to the city.

When they were brought before Yusuf, they threw themselves on the ground before him.

“What is this you have done?” Yusuf demanded. “Don’t you know that a man like me can find things out by divination?”

“What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied miserably. “What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves – we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup.”

“Far be it from me to do such a thing!” Yusuf responded. “Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back to your father in peace.”

This was the test Yusuf had been waiting for. Years ago, when he was the favored son, his brothers had been willing to sell him into slavery rather than bear their jealousy. Now Benjamin was clearly the favored son, and he was about to become a slave. Would the brothers abandon him as they had abandoned Yusuf? Or had they learned something from their past?

Judah stepped forward, his face filled with anguish.

“My lord, let your servant please speak a word to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, though you are equal to Pharaoh himself.”

And then Judah began to speak words that would change everything.

Lesson from Episode 11: Sometimes God allows us to face the same type of test multiple times until we pass it. The brothers had failed the test of favoritism years ago when they betrayed Yusuf. Now they faced the same test with Benjamin. Would they repeat their old pattern, or had they grown and changed? Real growth is often measured not by what we say we’ve learned, but by how we respond when we face the same temptations that once defeated us.