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THE STORY OF THE MONEY IN THE SACKS
When Joseph was made ruler over the land of Egypt, he did just as he had
always done. It was not Joseph's way to sit down, to rest and enjoy
himself, and make others wait on him. He found his work at once, and
began to do it faithfully and thoroughly. He went out over all the land
of Egypt, and saw how rich and abundant were the fields of grain, giving
much more than the people could use for their own needs. He told the
people not to waste it, but to save it for the coming time of need.
And he called upon the people to give him for the king one bushel of
grain out of every five, to be stored up. The people brought their
grain, after taking for themselves as much as they needed, and Joseph
stored it up in great storehouses in the cities; so much at last that no
one could keep account of it.
The king of Egypt gave a wife to Joseph from the noble young women of
his kingdom. Her name was Asenath; and to Joseph and his wife God gave
two sons. The oldest son he named Manasseh, a word which means "Making
to Forget."
"For," said Joseph, "God has made me to forget all my troubles and my
toil as a slave."
The second son he named Ephraim, a word that means "Fruitful."
"Because," said Joseph, "God has not only made the land fruitful; but he
has made me fruitful in the land of my troubles."
The seven years of plenty soon passed by, and then came the years of
need. In all the lands around people were hungry, and there was no food
for them to eat; but in the land of Egypt everybody had enough. Most of
the people soon used up the grain that they had saved; many had saved
none at all, and they all cried to the king to help them.
"Go to Joseph!" said king Pharaoh, "and do whatever he tells you to do."
Then the people came to Joseph, and Joseph opened the storehouses, and
sold to the people all the grain that they wished to buy. And not only
the people of Egypt came to buy grain, but people of all the lands
around as well, for there was great need and famine everywhere. And the
need was as great in the land of Canaan, where Jacob lived, as in other
lands. Jacob was rich in flocks and cattle, and gold and silver, but his
fields gave no grain, and there was danger that his family and his
people would starve. And Jacob--who was now called Israel also--heard
that there was food in Egypt and he said to his sons: "Why do you look
at each other, asking what to do to find food? I have been told that
there is grain in Egypt. Go down to that land, and take money with you,
and bring grain, so that we may have bread, and may live."
Then the ten older brothers of Joseph went down to the land of Egypt.
They rode upon asses, for horses were not much used in those times, and
they brought money with them. But Jacob would not let Benjamin, Joseph's
younger brother, go with them, for he was all the more dear to his
father, now that Joseph was no longer with him; and Jacob feared that
harm might come to him.
Then Joseph's brothers came to Joseph to buy food. They did not know
him, grown up to be a man, dressed as a prince, and seated on a throne.
Joseph was now nearly forty years old, and it had been almost
twenty-three years since they had sold him. But Joseph knew them all, as
soon as he saw them. He wished to be sharp and stern with them, not
because he hated them; but because he wished to see what their spirit
was, and whether they were as selfish, and cruel, and wicked as they had
been in other days.
They came before him, and bowed, with their faces to the ground. Then,
no doubt, Joseph thought of the dream that had come to him while he was
a boy, of his brothers' sheaves bending down around his sheaf. He spoke
to them as a stranger, as if he did not understand their language, and
he had their words explained to him in the language of Egypt.
"Who are you? And from what place do you come?" said Joseph, in a harsh,
stern manner.
They answered him very meekly: "We have come from the land of Canaan to
buy food."
"No," said Joseph, "I know what you have come for. You have come as
spies, to see how helpless the land is, so that you can bring an army
against us, and make war on us."
"No, no," said Joseph's ten brothers. "We are no spies. We are the sons
of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan; and we have come for food,
because we have none at home."
"You say that you are the sons of one man, who is your father? Is he
living? Have you any more brothers? Tell me all about yourselves."
And they said: "Our father is an old man in Canaan. We did have a
younger brother, but he was lost; and we have one brother still, who is
the youngest of all, but his father could not spare him to come with
us."
"No," said Joseph. "You are not good, honest men. You are spies. I
shall put you all in prison, except one of you; and he shall go and
bring that youngest brother of yours; and when I see him, then I will
believe that you tell the truth."
So Joseph put all the ten men in prison, and kept them under guard for
three days; then he sent for them again. They did not know that he could
understand their language, and they said to each other, while Joseph
heard, but pretended not to hear: "This has come upon us because of the
wrong that we did to our brother Joseph, more than twenty years ago. We
heard him cry, and plead with us, when we threw him into the pit, and we
would not have mercy on him. God is giving us only what we have
deserved."
And Reuben, who had tried to save Joseph, said: "Did I not tell you not
to harm the boy? and you would not listen to me. God is bringing our
brother's blood upon us all."
When Joseph heard this, his heart was touched, for he saw that his
brothers were really sorry for the wrong that they had done to him. He
turned away from them, so that they could not see his face, and he wept.
Then he turned again to them and spoke roughly as before, and said:
"This I will do, for I serve God. I will let you all go home, except
one man. One of you I will shut up in prison; but the rest of you can go
home and take food for your people. And you must come back and bring
your youngest brother with you, and I shall know then that you have
spoken the truth."
Then Joseph gave orders, and his servants seized one of his brothers,
whose name was Simeon, and bound him in their sight and took him away to
prison. And he ordered his servants to fill the men's sacks with grain,
and to put every man's money back into the sack before it was tied up,
so that they would find the money as soon as they opened the sack. Then
the men loaded their asses with the sacks of grain, and started to go
home, leaving their brother Simeon a prisoner.
When they stopped on the way to feed their asses, one of the brothers
opened his sack, and there he found his money lying on the top of the
grain. He called out to his brothers: "See, here is my money given again
to me!" And they were frightened, but they did not dare to go back to
Egypt and meet the stern ruler of the land. They went home and told
their old father all that had happened to them, and how their brother
Simeon was in prison, and must stay there until they should return,
bringing Benjamin with them.
When they opened their sacks of grain, there in the mouth of each sack
was the money that they had given; and they were filled with fear. Then
they spoke of going again to Egypt and taking Benjamin, but Jacob said
to them:
"You are taking my sons away from me. Joseph is gone, and Simeon is
gone, and now you would take Benjamin away. All these things are against
me!" Reuben said: "Here are my own two boys. You may kill them, if you
wish, in case I do not bring Benjamin back to you." But Jacob said: "My
youngest son shall not go with you. His brother is dead, and he alone is
left to me. If harm should come to him, it would bring down my gray
hairs with sorrow to the grave."
Next
page |
THE
STORY OF ADAM AND EVE
THE
STORY OF NOAH AND THE ARK
THE
STORY OF HAGAR AND ISHMAEL
THE
STORY OF ABRAHAM AND ISAAC
THE
STORY OF JACOB
THE SALE OF A BIRTHRIGHT
THE
STORY OF THE LADDER THAT REACHED TO HEAVEN
THE
STORY OF JOSEPH
THE
COAT OF MANY COLORS
THE
DREAMS OF A KING
THE
STORY OF THE MONEY IN THE SACKS
THE
MYSTERY OF THE LOST BROTHER
THE
STORY OF MOSES, THE CHILD WHO WAS FOUND IN THE RIVER
THE
STORY OF THE GRAPES FROM CANAAN
THE
STORY OF GIDEON AND HIS THREE HUNDRED SOLDIERS
THE
STORY OF SAMSON, THE STRONG MAN
THE
STORY OF RUTH, THE GLEANER
THE
STORY OF DAVID
THE
SHEPHERD BOY
THE
STORY OF THE FIGHT WITH THE GIANT
THE
STORY OF THE CAVE OF ADULLAM
THE
STORY OF SOLOMON AND HIS TEMPLE
THE
STORY OF ELIJAH, THE PROPHET
THE
STORY OF JONAH AND THE WHALE
THE
STORY OF THE FIERY FURNACE
THE
STORY OF DANIEL IN THE LION'S DEN
THE
STORY OF THE ANGEL BY THE ALTAR
THE
STORY OF JESUS
THE
BABE OF BETHLEHEM
THE
STORY OF THE STAR AND THE WISE MEN
THE
STORY OF THE CHILD IN THE TEMPLE
THE
STORY OF THE WATER THAT WAS TURNED INTO WINE
THE
STORY OF THE STRANGER AT THE WELL
THE
STORY OF THE FISHERMEN
THE
STORY OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
THE
STORY OF THE MIRACLE WORKER
THE
GOOD SHEPHERD AND THE GOOD SAMARITAN
THE
STORY OF THE PALM BRANCHES
THE
STORY OF THE BETRAYAL
THE
STORY OF THE EMPTY TOMB
THE
STORY OF THE MAN AT THE BEAUTIFUL GATE
THE STORY OF STEPHEN, THE FIRST MARTYR
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