Genesis 42

        Jacob sends his ten eldest sons down to Egypt to buy grain, keeping Benjamin back home for safety. (v.4) Jacob is afraid of losing his youngest in a manner similar to Joseph’s fate. Verse 5 reminds us that the famine was not just in Egypt but in all the earth at that time, as stated in the previous chapter. God’s plan all along had been to save Jacob and his house by establishing Joseph in Egypt as their salvation. Now that plan was about to be fulfilled.
         Because of Joseph’s status as governor over all of Egypt, it isn’t long before his brothers are before him, and they bow down to him, just as Joseph had foreseen some twenty years earlier. (v.6) Joseph immediately recognizes them, but they don’t recognize him. This is not only because Joseph has grown into a man in the two decades since they last saw him, physically changed by his life of labor and time spent in prison, but he has also adopted the mannerisms, customs and dress of the Egyptians. Furthermore, verse 7 tells us that Joseph speaks harshly towards his brothers, acting as a stranger to them. He demands to know where they’re from. They tell him they’re from Canaan, and they’re there to buy grain.
      Joseph remembers again the dreams that he had experienced as a boy, and he accuses his brothers of being spies, come “…to see the nakedness of the land…” (v.9) They quickly deny it, claiming again to be there only to buy food. They tell Joseph they are all brothers of the same family, that they’re servants, not spies. (v.11) But Joseph again insists they are spies, to which his brothers explain further that they are a family of twelve sons. The youngest is now with their father in Canaan, and “…one is not…” (v.13) Joseph pretends not to believe them, accusing them a third time of being spies. He then tells them how they can prove their innocence: they will send one back to Canaan to fetch their youngest brother while the others remain prisoners in Egypt. He then casts all of them into the dungeon for three days.
         On the third day, Joseph tells his brothers that one of them will remain behind as a prisoner in Egypt while the remaining nine return to their father in Canaan with the grain. They then must all return with their youngest brother to appear before Joseph once more to prove their innocence. If not, they all will be executed as spies.
        Verses 21-22 give us a glimpse of Joseph’s true motives for dealing so harshly with his brothers. It is not from a desire of vengeance or an abuse of his position and power, as it might first appear. In these two verses, the brothers are having a conference amongst themselves before giving their official response to Joseph’s demand. They recognize their guilt concerning Joseph, believing that they are now being punished many years later for what they did to him. “…We saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.” (v.21) Reuben confirms this in verse 22, saying essentially, “I warned you not to harm Joseph, but you wouldn’t listen. Now we must pay for what we’ve done.” (Genesis 37:21-22)
        The brothers are, of course, unaware that Joseph, standing only a short distance away, is able to understand them even though they speak in Hebrew. Verse 23 tells us that Joseph has been using an interpreter this whole time. Now, after hearing his brothers’ anguish and guilt, Joseph must turn away and quickly leave the room to hide his emotional reaction. The desire to be fully reunited with his family and to forgive them is so overwhelming that it causes him to weep. This is how we know that Joseph’s plot is not one of revenge. He bears no resentment or grudge against his brothers, yet another indicator of his absolute faith and trust in God.
       Once he has regained his composure, Joseph returns to his brothers and binds Simeon. The rest of them are free to go. Joseph orders his servants to fill their sacks with grain, but – unknown to his brothers, of course – he also orders the servants to return each man’s money within the sacks. He then instructs the servants to give his brothers extra provisions for the return trip. (v.25) The nine brothers load up their donkeys and depart Egypt.
          Later that night, when they stop to rest, the brothers find their returned money, and they become even more afraid. “What is this that God hath done unto us?” they ask one another. (v.28) Joseph’s plan was working. When the brothers arrive back home they tell Jacob all that transpired in Egypt. They relay Joseph’s order to them to bring Benjamin back with them in order to free Simeon, but Jacob refuses. Even after Reuben pledges the lives of his own sons as collateral if he doesn’t bring back Benjamin safe and sound, Jacob still refuses. “If mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.” (v.38)
         
         Joseph is not the only one who has changed in the twenty-plus years since we began his story. We see from this chapter that his brothers, also, are different men than when we first met them, plagued by guilt and regret for the wrong they committed against Joseph. As I noted earlier in my commentary on chapter 38, this is not just Joseph’s story. These last few chapters of Genesis are about the redemption of his brothers as well. In the lives and events of these twelve men and their father, Israel, God is showing us today a powerful lesson in forgiveness and faith, as well as demonstrating His omniscient ability to care for, protect and provide for His children.