Friday, Sept. 6
Genesis 42:1-38 Read it here
Chapter 42 begins a back-and-forth exchange between Joseph and his brothers.
Ten of the brothers journey to Egypt to buy grain, since they too are victims of the widespread famine. The fact that Jacob keeps Benjamin at home with him suggests he doesn’t really trust his sons.
When they go before the governor, they don’t recognize that it is their brother, Joseph. Of all the times in the Bible where people fail to recognize loved ones, this is probably the most reasonable. Joseph was 17 when they last saw him; now he is about twice that age. Egyptian dress and grooming would have been very different than what they were used to, and Joseph is speaking Egyptian and using an interpreter to communicate with them.
And, probably most significantly, they have no reason to imagine that this Egyptian governor is the brother they sold into slavery. By any reasonable expectation, they would believe Joseph is dead by now, a victim of harsh captivity—certainly not the wealthy, powerful man they are bowing down to.
Joseph could have responded in several ways.
He remembers the dreams of his brothers bowing before him. “I-told-you-so” must have been on his mind.
Retaliation was also within his reach. A simple “no” to the plea to buy grain would have led to the brothers’ starvation with no effort from him. He clearly has the power to order people imprisoned—he could have sent them to rot in jail or worse.
He could have also forgiven them on the spot, creating a nice, neat happy ending to the tale.
Instead, he embarks on an elaborate plan that will ultimately reunited the family, but only after proving that there has been a real change of heart by the brothers.
This is instructive for relating to people who have seriously wronged us. Joseph shows no hatred or animosity toward them but is cautious about giving them any new opportunities to hurt him or anyone else.