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Day 42 – Invitation Genesis 43:1 Now the famine was severe in the land. 2 happened, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.” 3 Judah spoke to him, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 5 But if you do not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’” 6 Israel said, “Why did you deal so wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you had still another brother?” 7 They said, “The man asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ We told him according to these words. Could we have known he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” 8 Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and our little ones. 9 I will be surety for him; from my hand you will require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. 10 For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time.” 11 Their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and carry down a present for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. 12 Take double the money in your hand and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. 13 Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man. 14 And may God Almighty (El Shadday) give you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!” 15 So the men took the present and Benjamin, and double money in their hand, and arose and went down to Egypt; and they stood before Joseph. 16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my home, and slaughter an animal and make ready; for these men will dine with me at noon.” 17 Then the man did as Joseph ordered, and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house. 18 Now the men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, “It is because of the money, which was returned in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may make a case against us and fall upon us, to take us as slaves with our donkeys.” 19 When they drew near to the steward of Joseph’s house, they talked with him at the door of the house, 20 and said, “O sir, we indeed came down the first time to buy food; 21 but it happened, when we came to the encampment, that we opened our sacks, and there, each man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; so we have brought it back in our hand. 22 We have brought down other money in our hands to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.” 23 He said, “Peace be with you, do not be afraid. Your God (Elohiym) and the God (Elohiym) of your father gave you treasure in your sacks; I had your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them. 24 So the man brought the men into Joseph’s house and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed. 25 Then they made the present ready for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they would eat bread there. 26 When Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house and bowed down before him to the earth. 27 Then he asked them about their well-being, and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” 28 They answered, “Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.” They bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves. 29 Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your younger brother of whom you spoke to me?” He said, “God (Elohiym) be gracious to you, my son.” 30 Now his heart yearned for his brother; Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. He went into his chamber and wept there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out; and restrained himself, and said, “Serve the bread.” 32 So they set him a place by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat food with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. 33 They sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth; and the men looked in astonishment at one another. 34 Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamin’s serving was five times as much as any of theirs. So, they drank and were merry with him. God’s name: Elohiym – Mighty God God’s character: El Shadday – God Almighty People receive invitations every day to special events in their lives. Fear usually doesn’t accompany the invitations. Instead, they hurry to make themselves presentable for the occasion. Whether it’s a birthday, wedding, graduation, retirement, or numerous other reasons, people bring gifts for the person who invited them to the party. It wasn’t joy that brought Joseph’s brothers back to Egypt to face him. It was trepidation. They didn’t know what to expect, so their father told them to take the best present they could offer the ruler of Egypt, and with reluctance, sent Benjamin with them. When Joseph saw his brothers, and Benjamin, he invited them to dinner. His brothers, not knowing it was Joseph, worried about the invitation. They asked the servant if it was because the money was in their sacks the first time they returned home. They told him they brought double. The servant assured them he had their money. With further surprise they sat at the table in the order of their birth unaware of the significance of the seating, with Joseph sitting by himself, and the Egyptian servants by themselves. To their surprise, Benjamin received five times the amount of food as them. The Holy Spirit invited you to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord. When you accepted His invitation, Jesus invited you to the greatest wedding supper in history. You didn’t lose your invitation, did you? What kind of preparations are you making for the wedding banquet? Did you prepare gifts for the Bridegroom? What about your clothes? Are they the finest you could wear? Revelation 19:7 “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 To her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’” He said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” Joseph’s brothers were afraid because of what they did to Joseph, not knowing he sat among them. Everything they did to him came back to their memory, so that instead of enjoying the invitation to dine with him, they wondered what it meant. As you prepare for the marriage supper of the Lamb, Satan will do everything he can to bring your past before you and try to shame you into believing you aren’t worthy of the invitation. You will look at your clothes and find them unworthy of the invitation. You will look at the gifts in your hands and find them unworthy. You will look at your life and find it unworthy. You will tell yourself you are unworthy to sit in the Lamb’s presence. When you accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord, His blood made you worthy. When you committed your life to His service, His blood made you worthy. When He looks at the gifts in your hand, He sees your worth, and calls you, His child. You are worthy. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. Your life is your service to Him. The gifts you bring are from the Holy Spirit to do His will in your life. Everything you do for Him makes you worthy. Now, do you have your invitation? Supper is about to begin. Let’s pray: Father, thank you for the invitation to be Your child. Thank you for making me worthy of the wedding supper of the Lamb. Help me quash all the lies Satan tells me about my unworthiness as I stand in Your presence because Your Son’s blood makes me worthy. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Copyright © 29 February 2024 by Valerie Routhieaux The image belongs to me.