Genesis 42:18-25 – Making peace with our past

Joseph imprisoned his brothers for three days. Those must have been three long terror-filled days. Each must have been tormented as they considered who should go and bear the news to Jacob. We can be pretty sure that most of them would rather be in prison than to return home to bring the news to their father. Joseph had cleverly terrified them till they were confused. Then on the third day, what Joseph did surprised them on two counts. Firstly, he astounded them by making reference to God. In verse 18 he said to them, “Do this and live, for I fear God….” Till now, the ten brothers had at no point made mention of God in their conversation. And to hear Joseph mention God was certainly a surprise to them. More so, to think that Joseph, whom they thought was an Egyptian, making mention of God would be even more shocking.  Secondly, Joseph decided to only hold one of them and let the other nine return to fetch Benjamin to Egypt. This must have brought some relief since they could then return home with some grains. But Joseph wanted to know if his decision to just retain one brother would subject the rest to the temptation of abandoning that retained brother, just like they did to him thirteen years ago?

What Joseph did to them was making them admit their guilt. Verses 21-22 reveal that their minds went back to that moment when they abandoned Joseph. They were saying to each other, “Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us.” Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not tell you, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Now comes the reckoning for his blood.” There were deep remorse all round as they looked back. They referred to Joseph as our brother instead of the dreamer. With the passing of time they must have regretted what they did to Joseph. So that day he realized that his brothers did have feelings after all. They even confessed that they rightly deserved what they were going through.  

With awakened conscience, the brothers now felt the guilt of their past. And true guilt does have a way of bringing about repentance in a person.  The brothers’ guilt put them in the path of grace. Let’s be sensitive to God’s leading. When we sense him leading us to a point to release our wrong, we should seize the moment to turn to Him. We must embrace that grace and allow it to bring its full impact in our life. The brothers did not know that it was Joseph that they were dealing with for there was an interpreter between them. Hence they did not know that Joseph understood what they were saying. And he was touched by the expression of their guilt, so he turned away from them and wept. He probably also wept because he felt their pain as they had to be put through the plan he came up with, to find out if they had indeed changed.

  

Joseph knew he still had one more test to complete his strategy. Having composed himself, he returned and spoke to them. He took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.  Meanwhile he ordered that his brothers’ bags be filled with grain and to return their money by placing it in their bags. He also made provision for their journey back to their father. His order was carried out. All these Joseph did to test them. The first step to change is self-awareness. If we do not see our wrong, we will never take the step to change. What Joseph did to his brothers brought them into their past misdeeds. When they finally realized their guilt they were now ready for the grace poised to be poured over them. For us today, a good time of introspection can help bring us to where we have gone wrong and then be ready to make adjustment to right the wrong. It can be a very liberating experience. Take time to do it.