And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have you bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and you will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.
Read Chapter 42
Caesarius of Arles
AD 542
Now notice a still greater wonder and see how blessed Joseph, who knew that his father suffered intolerable sorrow on his account, as if what he had endured before were not enough, now causes Benjamin to be taken from him. Surely by this act he knew that his father would suffer increased grief. I do not believe that all these things happened without the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. God, whose judgments are often hidden but never unjust and who refused to notify blessed Jacob that his son was living, likewise did not allow holy Joseph to declare his glory to his father. Rather, as was said, by keeping Simeon in bonds and taking away Benjamin, he increased the distress of his father. If we heed these facts devoutly and carefully, dearly beloved, we realize that God acted with great mercy. Since the beginning of the world he has done to his saints what he fulfilled in blessed Jacob with great kindness. However, notice carefully why this happened. Although servants and friends of God h...
Without. Through excess of grief, Jacob speaks with a degree of exaggeration; or he thought his children were now taken from him so fast, that he would soon have none left.
