Till Shiloh Comes

by Gilbert, Morris

  Judah had planned his speech well. He knew he must not tell too much, and yet he had to somehow prepare his father for the news that Joseph was alive. He began to tell him about Joseph as ruler but always called him simply the Provider. He told about their welcome but left out the unpleasant part about the silver cup for the moment. Jacob listened intently, and finally he began to ask questions about the man who was second to Pharaoh. “He is not an Egyptian?”

  “No, he is not,” Judah said.

  “That is strange that the pharaoh would not choose one of his own people to be in such a responsible position.”

  “The man has a marvelous story,” Judah said carefully.

  “I would like to hear it.”

  “Well, you will a little later, but it’s almost time for the feast now.”

  Jacob sat very still, then looked up and smiled at Judah. “You did well, my son. I’m proud of you.”

  Judah was touched. His father was not given to compliments, and he knew that the door was open to at least begin the campaign of persuasion. “We have a surprise for you, my brothers and I, but it must wait till tomorrow.”

  Jacob laughed. “You play games with me, but I tell you, it cannot be better news than that you have all come back safely.”

  Judah shook his head and smiled. “When you sleep tonight, do me a favor. Think of the most wonderful thing in all the world.”

  “I cannot think of anything better than having you all back, but I will try.”

  Judah waited until after the feast was over, and then he called all his brothers together and told them what had happened.

  “We will have to tell him right away. We can’t let this thing go on,” Reuben said with a worried look.

  “I know,” Judah replied. He took a deep breath and looked around at the brothers. “Are you certain that I should be the one to tell him?” He saw them all nod, and then shook his own head. “I do not feel capable.”

  “I will tell our father.”

  Everyone twisted around to stare at Benjamin. Being the youngest, he had never once, as far as any of them could remember, attempted to make a decision that involved all of them. But now there was a strength and a calmness in his features. His eyes were steady as he met their glances, and he said, “Joseph and I talked this over before we left Egypt. It was his feeling that I should be the one to tell Father.”

  “That is an excellent idea!” Judah cried at once, relieved to be freed from the burden. “You are his favorite son.”

  “Yes, and besides that,” Dan said, “you have a gentleness about you that the rest of us lack. I think you are exactly right.”

  The rest of the brothers all agreed, and Benjamin left to go home to his family. As they watched him go, Judah said, “I pray that it will not be too much for Father. I do not see how even Benjamin can break this to him in a way that will not do him some harm by the shock of it.”

  “We must have faith in our younger brother,” Reuben said. “Come now. Let’s all go to bed.”

  ****

  Jacob found Benjamin waiting for him immediately after his breakfast. He had slept well, and now he embraced his youngest son heartily. “It is so good to see you back, my son.”

  “You see? All your fears were for nothing. The things that we worry the most about sometimes don’t happen.”

  “Sit down, my son. Judah has told me some of what occurred, but I want to hear more.”

  “First I want us to pray together, Father.”

  Jacob stared at Benjamin in surprise. “It is always a good idea, my son, but about what?”

  “I want us to pray for you—that you will not be overcome.”

  “Overcome by what?”

  “By the good news we bring and the future that lies ahead of us.”

  “Good new concerning you and your brothers?”

  “It concerns all of us, but mostly you. Come, let us pray.”

  Jacob bowed his head and listened as his youngest son prayed a beautiful prayer. It was short but filled with joy, such joy that Jacob could not understand it. When Benjamin was finished, Jacob lifted his head, and his eyes glistened with tears. “That was a fine prayer, my son.”

  “Good. Then I know that El Shaddai will not allow you to be overcome.”

  “I was not overcome by the angel when I wrestled with him.”

  “But you are older now,” Benjamin said with a smile, “and good news can be very overwhelming.”

  Jacob sobered and stared at him. “Does this have anything to do with what Judah mentioned last night?”

  “What did he say?”

  “He only said that you all had a surprise for me, but he wouldn’t tell me what it was.”

  “That’s right. Now, take my hands and be very calm.”

  Bewildered, Jacob reached out his hands, and Benjamin, who knelt before him, took them firmly in his. “What would be the one thing you would rather have in all the world if you could have a wish?” Benjamin asked.

  Jacob stared at him. “Well, I would like for my family to be safe and well.”

  “That is a good wish, and it is part of the very good news that we have brought back from Egypt.”

  “I would not have thought anything good could come from Egypt.”

  “You will have to rearrange your thinking about Egypt, Father. But for now, I want you to think of something that you would love to be true but that you think is impossible.”

  Jacob was very puzzled. He thought hard and made several false starts; then he shrugged. “Well, of course, my first wish would be that we had your brother back again, but that can never be.”

  “We’re very close now,” Benjamin said. “Keep that in your mind. The thing you would like most if you could would be to have your son Joseph back. Now, suppose a stranger came in here, Father, and said, ‘I am going to give you your son Joseph back to you alive.’”

  “Only God could do that. Why are you saying these things to me? It disturbs me greatly. I don’t like to talk about them.”

  “Father,” Benjamin said, holding the old man’s hands tightly, “I have to tell you plainly now.” He hesitated and saw that Jacob’s eyes were fixed upon him and said, “Your son Joseph did not die as we thought. He was not slain by an animal.”

  Jacob started and began to tremble, then swayed back and forth.

  Benjamin grabbed him and said, “You must be strong, Father. Just breathe deeply and listen. Sometimes good news is hard to take. You have met with God and endured, and now you must endure the good news. The best news that you could possibly imagine.”

  Jacob’s lips trembled, and his eyes were wide. He was breathing hard, and he whispered hoarsely, “Benjamin … is Joseph … is Joseph truly alive?”

  “He is alive, Father. He did not die all those years ago.”

  Jacob closed his eyes, and Benjamin changed positions. He moved to his father’s side and put his arm around his shoulders, supporting him. “This is something that God has done, and you must accept it as such.”

  “He is alive and you saw him in Egypt?”

  “We could not help but see him, Father. Your son Joseph is the one whom they call the Great Provider. He is second in Egypt only to Pharaoh.”

  “How can this be?” Jacob whispered.

  “It could be because God has done it. El Shaddai used a terrible way to send Joseph to Egypt. You will hear all about it. But there he rose to power, and now he wants to see you.”

  Jacob began to weep, and Benjamin held the old man for a long time. Finally, to his relief, Jacob took a deep breath. He wiped the tears from his eyes with his sleeve and said almost fiercely, “I will see my son. Now tell me everything, Benjamin!”

  Chapter 35

  Benjamin was ecstatic as the brothers gathered, and he explained what had happened. “I told him everything! I told him that Joseph was alive, and he is well!” he exclaimed.

  Judah gave an exultant cry. “Wonderful—wonderful! I’m proud of you, brother. You’ve done well.”
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br />   “However did you do it?” Reuben asked, shaking his head in wonder.

  “I think God was with me. Father is so excited now, and he wants to see us all.”

  “Did you tell him everything?” Dan asked, a worried tone in his voice.

  “No. I didn’t tell him about the cup in my sack. I left that out, but I told him everything else.”

  “Did you tell him about the pharaoh’s insistence we move to Egypt?” Simeon demanded.

  “No, I didn’t tell him that either. I was so worried about telling him the really big news, I didn’t mention the other yet. But I suppose we need to tell him soon.”

  “It ought to be easier to break that to him now,” Simeon said, nodding. “He’ll be anxious to see Joseph.”

  “Yes, he will,” Judah agreed. “I’m certainly ready to leave this land with its endless heat and drought. Those green fields along the Nile look mighty good, and the pharaoh promised we could put our flocks in the rich land of Goshen. Surely Father can see the wisdom in that.”

  “There’s only one way to find out,” Benjamin said cheerfully. “Let’s go meet with him.”

  The brothers went to their father’s tent to talk with him. Judah was glad to see that Jacob looked much better than when they first arrived. He was standing straight, and there was a glow in his eyes as he greeted them all. “Come in, my sons. I want to hear more about this wonderful news!”

  “It would take a long time to tell it all, Father,” Judah said. “It’s still hard to believe.”

  They sat for a time, each sharing their thoughts, and finally Benjamin looked around and saw that his brothers were all watching him. He knew they were expecting him to bring up the subject of the move to Egypt.

  “Father,” he said, “there’s one more thing. One more bit of good news. Do you think you can take it?”

  Jacob laughed heartily. “I can always take good news, but it could not be as good as that which you have already given me.”

  “No, nothing could be better than that, but Joseph and the pharaoh have issued an invitation.”

  “An invitation? To whom?”

  “To you and to all of us and our families.”

  Jacob blinked with surprise. “An invitation to visit?”

  “No, it’s even better than that,” Benjamin said with excitement. “You have seen our flocks and herds dying off, and this drought seems to be getting worse. Another year and we’ll have nothing left.”

  “I fear that’s true,” Jacob said sadly.

  “Yes, it is true, Father,” Benjamin said. “But the pharaoh has made us a wonderful offer. Tell him about it, Judah.”

  Judah was surprised, but he had seen more of the fields of Goshen than any of the others. He began to tell his father about the richness of the land of Goshen, then said, “The pharaoh wants us to come live there.”

  “You mean … permanently?”

  “The ground is rich there,” Judah explained, “and the Egyptians don’t care for shepherds. They’ll be happy to have us take care of the pharaoh’s flocks while we raise our own. Joseph’s talked to me about it.”

  “But this will mean leaving our home for good.”

  “Yes, it will. There’s no denying that,” Reuben put in. “But think of the advantages. We’re going to starve if we stay here. There we’ll have good ground, and we can increase our flocks.”

  “I hate to think of leaving my home. It’s where my people are buried. Our people, I should say.”

  “We can always come back when the drought is over,” Dan said eagerly. “It’s a marvelous opportunity.”

  But Jacob was hard to convince, as they had all known he would be. After a long argument Benjamin finally found the key.

  “You haven’t thought of the best thing in of all this, Father.”

  “What’s that, my son?”

  “If we lived in the land of Goshen, you could see Joseph anytime you wanted to. You could see his children and meet his wife. We would all be together, all twelve of us, a family again, and you know how wonderful it would be to have Joseph with us!”

  Something changed in Jacob’s face, and Benjamin instantly pursued his advantage. “I think God has put Joseph there as our provider, not just for the Egyptians.”

  A silence reined over the group, and Jacob said, “I will have to think about it.”

  “Of course you will,” Benjamin said at once. “There’s no hurry.”

  ****

  Actually, there was a need to hurry, for Joseph had urged them to move quickly, but the brothers waited for several days, allowing Jacob to mull over the idea. He was obviously troubled, and none of them dared mention it to him.

  “We can’t pressure him,” Reuben muttered. “He’ll have to make up his own mind.”

  It was Tamar who applied the final pressure. When she saw that he was resisting what seemed to her the wise thing to do, she came to him late one afternoon and sat with him for a long time. She began to talk about his family and how they needed his help. “You’ve always been able to provide for them,” she said.

  “Well, I hope so. That’s what I’m most interested in, of course.”

  “Well, I know that you don’t like the idea of moving to Egypt, but we can keep our people apart from the Egyptians, just as we have kept apart from the Hittites and other idolaters around here. And we can always come back,” she argued skillfully. Slowly she saw the old man begin to change his mind, and she ended up with Benjamin’s argument. “I’m so anxious to meet Joseph. I’ve never met him, you know, and he seems like such a dear man.”

  “You would love him, Tamar. Everybody did.” This was not precisely true, but in Jacob’s memory it seemed to have been that way.

  From that moment on Jacob began to speak about the journey, asking how long it would take, and interrogating Judah about the fields and the grazing for the flocks. They were all careful not to get too excited, at least in front of him, but Judah summed it up when he said, “I think it’s going to be all right. He’s going to make the sacrifice.”

  Two days after Judah pronounced this, Jacob called his sons together and smiled at them. “Well, you’re going to have your way. We will go to Egypt.”

  Cries of joy went up from the brothers, and they all rushed to press into their father and tell him how wonderful it was going to be. He put his hands up and said, “Egypt will be for us what we make it. If we join in with the Egyptians and their awful idolatry, we will not survive. But we will be together, and all twelve of my sons will be alive.”

  “It won’t take long to get ready to leave,” Judah said eagerly.

  “I must visit the family grave first, for I may never see it again.”

  “I will take you there myself,” Judah said softly. “We will go tomorrow.”

  ****

  The journey to Egypt began in the spring when all of their affairs were wound up. The long caravan left from Hebron, heading toward Beersheba. This was where Jacob and his father were born and where Rebekah had once obtained the birthright for Jacob by devious means.

  They made an impressive sight as they moved along with their flocks and possessions and all the family members, young and old. There were at least seventy of Jacob’s own family, but in addition there were shepherds, drovers, drivers, baggage men, and slaves, making over a hundred people in all. The train was like a noisy, slow-moving caterpillar, enveloped by clouds of dust raised by the flocks and the herds.

  The members made the journey any way they could, some of them walking, some in the wagons, some of them riding. In addition to the wagons, there were two-wheeled oxcarts, which carried not only household goods but some of the women and children as well. The people themselves made a colorful sight in their woven garments dyed in various hues. The women had black braids hanging over their shoulders and wore silver and bronze bracelets on their wrists. Their foreheads were hung with headbands of gold coins, and their nails were reddened with henna.

  Along the way they feasted on the rich food
s the brothers had brought back from Egypt—roasted onions, sour bread and olives, honey-covered dates, and dried meats. They ate so well on their journey that by the time they reached Egypt, they were much healthier than when had they left.

  They took the ridge road going down from the heights of Hebron to the deeper southland of the Negev. Jacob led the procession in the first wagon, staying well in front of the dust raised by the flocks. He made a dignified sight. The fine wool of his head-covering was fringed unevenly across his forehead and lay about his neck and shoulders, falling softly on his dark red tunic, which he wore open in the front to reveal the medallion he always wore on top of his embroidered undergarment. The breezes touched the strands of silver beads he also wore around his neck, and his eyes studied the land as they went.

  Each night they stopped in plenty of time to set up a comfortable camp. This journey would not be completed as quickly as when the brothers had traveled, because Jacob’s comfort was now their chief concern, along with the needs of the women and children.

  Each afternoon the women prepared a feast, and at night before the blazing campfires, the people sang and danced.

  When they were midway to their destination, Jacob sat with Tamar and her two boys. Benjamin had joined them, and he and his father had been talking for some time.

  Finally Benjamin said, “You’re not sorry about this, are you, Father?”

  Jacob, the patriarch, looked at his youngest son. “No, I’m not. I feel almost young again at the thought of seeing the beloved child of my True Wife after all these years. It is God’s miracle. I just regret that it takes so long to get there.”

  Tamar stroked Perez’s hair as he lay beside her deep in sleep. Zerah was also asleep with his head in her lap. Her eyes were dreamy as she said, “El Shaddai is working things out in His own way. One day out of this little band of people, Shiloh will come.”

  Jacob smiled at her, reached out, and touched Perez’s hair. “Yes, we must wait patiently until that great day comes,” he agreed.

  Benjamin looked at the old man and thought ahead to the time when Joseph and he would meet. That will be the greatest thing of all, and God has done it.