“Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them carts, according to the command of Pharaoh, and he gave them provisions for the journey. He gave to all of them, to each man, changes of garments; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of garments.” (Genesis 45:21-22)
In case you’re not familiar with the idea, a sign of wealth throughout the Bible (including the New Testament) was the ability of an individual to give away clothing. Wardrobes weren’t cheap! Especially certain colors that were difficult to obtain. So when the Bible says that Joseph (a man who was familiar with special clothing), who happened to be second in command throughout the land of Egypt, showed kindness, but also great wealth, by sending his family home with new clothes, including five changes to the brother closest to his heart, I can’t help but wonder to myself if we (the majority of us in the western culture) take the blessing of our clothes for granted? Because in case you haven’t noticed, there’s probably more than one or two of us who can afford to give away five changes of clothes without our closet being any worse for the wear. And we don’t even have to be the second in command of any nation to do it!
