‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬Looking at Jacob’s family tree, it is safe to say that some things ran deep in that lineage. Clearly was their penchant for hospitality. Abraham exhibited that trait when he entertained strangers. It turned out that he attended to heavenly beings without knowing. Our text is the report of the second trip of the sons of Jacob to Egypt in search of grains. The result of the first trip was a mixed fortune. They had obtained corn at no charge as everyone’s money was returned to their sacks; but one of them had been held as a surety that they would bring Benjamin to the officer. As they made ready to make their journey, Jacob asked his sons to take off the best fruits of the land for the man in Egypt. This he did in spite of the dearth in the land. Here is a lesson: difficult times are no reason to close the door on basic courtesy and hospitality. No giving is of greater value than the ones we do when we don’t have everything in abundance.

no matter how bad the season appears on the surface, it will not be without “good fruits”. There is always a witness of God’s kindness in all situations. Look out for it.

On the surface, something like contradiction is in this narrative. In one stroke, the Bible says there was famine in the land, and in another it talks of “best fruits in the land”?  If indeed there was famine, where did they get those fruits? It is common knowledge that some fruits thrive well in arid land. Scarcity of corn, which was the main stable, did not suggest that there was nothing of value in Canaan at the time. The application of this to real life situation is that, no matter how bad the season appears on the surface, it will not be without “good fruits”. There is always a witness of God’s kindness in all situations. Look out for it.