Daily Devotional Details

Date

So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. And they told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. Genesis 45:25-26

Picture the scene when the brothers return home to their father Jacob. Simply seeing them would have been a huge relief for the old man. They brought food, which meant that the family would survive. They brought back Simeon who had been detained in Egypt. Most of all, they brought back Benjamin, Jacob’s dearly loved son.

When the brothers tell the old man their news, that Joseph is alive, he can’t believe it. Notice his initial reaction: “His heart became numb, for he did not believe them” (45:26). It does not say, “He did not believe them because his heart was numb.” It says, “His heart became numb because he did not believe them.” The reason he had no feeling was that he did not believe that the dearly loved son was alive.

You find exactly the same thing in the Easter story when the women come to the eleven disciples with the news of the empty tomb. Luke tells us these words “seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them” (Luke 24:11).

When you hear about Jesus and the empty tomb, does it seem like an idle tale to you? Does it seem far-fetched based on what you have always thought about Him? Do you struggle to believe?