"God Almighty give you mercy before the man."--_Genesis 43:14._
JOSEPH'S brothers were soon obliged to go again and buy more corn in
Egypt. Joseph had said they must bring the young brother they had
told him of, or he should not believe their story; and when they said
Benjamin must go, their father Jacob was greatly grieved, and showed
how little he could trust them now, after the way they had behaved
to Joseph. He would not have let Benjamin go at all if Judah had not
promised to take the greatest care of him; and Judah could be trusted.
The story is so beautiful, and so easy to understand in the Bible, that
I hardly like to tell it in my own words. Only think of Joseph's heart
being so full when he saw his own dear youngest brother, that he could
not stay with him for his tears, and went away to weep in his chamber!
And yet he still tried the brothers. He wanted to see if they still
were envious of the one their father loved best; so he made his steward
hide his cup in Benjamin's sack of corn, and then go after them, and
pretend to think they had stolen it.
The sons of Jacob were no thieves, and they said the steward might
search their sacks. They took them down and looked, and there was the
cup in Benjamin's sack!
They were all shocked; and the steward said that Benjamin must go back
and be punished.
How pleased they would have been long ago if such a misfortune had
happened to Joseph! But now their hearts were changed, and they were
shocked and grieved.
[Illustration: JOSEPH PROCLAIMED RULER OVER EGYPT.--Gen. 41:41, 43.]