Story 65 Joseph’s Clever Love
The last time Joseph saw his brothers, they were angry and cruel. Though he pleaded with them for his life, they viciously sold him to slave traders. Now as they stood before him in Egypt, they were dusty and weary from their week long journey from Canaan. How different his nomadic brothers must have seemed with their long shaggy beards and simple shepherd’s garb. What should he do?
His brothers would never recognize him! He was wearing the clothes of a king! He was shaved clean of his beard and had a sharp Egyptian haircut. What is more, he had all the confidence and strength that men of power seem to bear.
Joseph decided not to reveal himself to his brothers. His silence was not part of a plan to deceive or hurt them. Deception was the way of Jacob and his sons in the past, but the heart of Joseph was different. He was wisely waiting to see if his brothers had become men that were worthy of his trust. He kept his identity a secret from them with the hope to befriend and bless. He was going to test them, but the tests of Joseph were the tests of love. God had given Joseph a plan to save Egypt. Now he had a plan to heal his family.
He first spoke to them harshly, as any official of Egypt would talk to a bunch of foreigners. “‘Where do you come from?’” he asked.
They said, “‘From the land of Canaan to buy food.’”
Joseph thought about those dreams he’d had as a teenager. In the dream, eleven sheaves of wheat had bowed before him. Only ten brothers were in front of him now. The only brother who not there was Benjamin. For the dream to be fulfilled, they would have to bring Benjamin to Egypt. So Joseph created a story that would force his brothers to return home and bring Benjamin back. First, he accused them of lying. He declared that they were not in Egypt to get food for their family. “‘You are spies!’” he said. “‘You have come to see where our land is unprotected.’”
His poor brothers confused. They insisted that they had only come to buy food. They explained that they were all brothers, honest men, come to purchase what their family needed to survive the famine. Joseph continued to accuse them of being spies, forcing them to give him more and more information about his family that he missed so dearly. Once they confessed that they had a younger brother, Joseph could demand that they bring Benjamin to him.
They said, “‘Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.’”
Joseph continued to accuse them of being spies. He pretended to fume and fuss, declaring that he was going to hold them captive in Egypt. Only one would be allowed to leave, and only so he could bring the youngest brother back! How Joseph must have longed to see Benjamin, the only other son of his beloved mother, Rachel. How terrified these nomads must have felt standing before the most powerful man in Egypt.
Joseph threw all his brothers in jail for three days. On the third day he went to them and told them he had changed his mind. He said that because he feared God, he knew that he had to let them take food home to their starving families. He offered to let all of them go but one. The nine could deliver the grain. The one would stay behind in prison until the others returned to Egypt with the youngest brother as proof that they were not spies. They would have to choose which brother would stay behind.
As the ten brothers discussed what to do, they were certain that all of this was happening to them because of what they had done to Joseph. The guilt and shame of their sin was still with them. They said, “‘We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen: that’s why this distress has come upon us.’”
The sons of Jacob knew that the world is ruled by a powerful and just God. Sin and the punishment of sin are not two things that could be separated. Their righteous God could be counted on to follow the guilt of sin with the fair result. They knew their horrible actions were finally catching up with them. God was using this Egyptian official to punish them for what they did to Joseph. As they faced this life and death situation, their hearts were shaken. They were coming to an honest fear of God. Their remorse was a sign that they truly believed in the Lord’s justice! It was a glimmer of faith and oddly, a glimmer of hope.
Reuben was angry. He berated them for bringing this further hardship on their family, “‘Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood.’”
This whole discussion was going on right in front of Joseph, but they didn’t think he could understand them. They were speaking in Hebrew, and they thought he was an Egyptian. When he spoke to them it was in the language of Egypt. He used an interpreter so they could understand him.
As he listened to his brothers speak with shame over what they had done to him, Joseph had to turn away in tears. Imagine the release he felt after living for thirteen years with that terrible betrayal and rejection! Their remorse was also opening the door for transformation of their own hearts. It was becoming more and more possible for the family of God to become whole again.
When Joseph finished weeping, he came back to them. Reuben was the oldest son, and so the responsibility for selling Joseph into slavery fell on his shoulders. But as Joseph listened in on their conversation, he learned for the first time that Reuben had fought against his brothers and tried to protect him. The next son in line was Simeon. He was the next brother in authority, yet he had done nothing to stop his younger brothers from their cruelty towards Joseph.
Joseph had Simeon bound up and put in prison. Then he prepared to send the rest of them on their way home to Jacob and their families. He had their donkeys loaded up with great bags of grain. Then he secretly ordered his servants to put the silver they had used to purchase the grain back in their bags. He was setting them up to look like they had stolen their silver back!
Joseph was testing his brothers once again. Were they truly repentant men? They had proven to be dangerous and vile, throwing their own brother away because of their uncontrolled jealousy. Would they now prove loyal to their brother Simeon, or would they leave him to languish in an Egyptian prison? Would they selflessly come back to get him even if they might be charged as criminals? Joseph was wisely using his power to press the hearts of his brothers to see if there was lasting change.