매일성경[창세기 44장 1-17절] / 매일성경묵상 / 메시지성경 / 김기웅목사

1-2 Joseph instructed his steward, “Fill their sacks with enough food for them to carry, and put the money each man brought back on top of his sack. And put my silver cup on top of the youngest’s sack, along with the money he brought for food.” He did as Joseph had instructed. 3-5 At dawn, they set out on their journey, led by their donkeys, accompanied by their farewells. When they had not yet left the city, Joseph said to his steward, “Pursue them. When you catch up with them, say, ‘Why do you repay good with evil? This is the cup my master drinks from. It is also the cup he uses for divination. How dare you do such an insolent thing!’” 6 The steward caught up with them and said all these words exactly as he had said. 7-9 They said, “We do not understand what you are saying. Our brothers are not the kind of people to do such a thing! We brought the money we found in the sack last time all the way from the land of Canaan. Do you think that we changed our minds and stole the silver cup from your master’s house? If the cup is found in any of us, that person deserves to die. And the rest of our brothers will become your master’s servants.” 10 The steward said, “Very well. But there is no need to go that far. The one in whom the cup is found will become my master’s servant. But the rest are innocent, so they may go.” 11-12 In their haste, without hesitation, each of them laid their sack on the ground, untied it, and had it examined. The steward searched their sacks one by one, from the oldest to the youngest. Then the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13 Disheartened, they tore their clothes, loaded their donkeys, and returned to the city. 14 When Judah and his brothers returned, they found Joseph still at home. They slumped to the ground before his eyes. 15 Joseph rebuked them, saying, “Why have you done this? Did you not know that a man like me would find out?” 16 Judah spoke on behalf of his brothers, saying, “Master, what can we say? What excuse can we give? How can we prove our innocence? God is behind us and has exposed our fault. We have sinned before you, Master, and now we will be your servants. We are all implicated in this. Both the boy who took the cup and we are sinners.” 17 Joseph said, “I have no intention of doing so. Only the one who took the cup will be my servant. The rest are innocent, so go back to your father.”