"People curse the man who hoards grain, but blessing crowns
him who is willing to sell" (Pro 11:26).
LOOKING AT EACH OTHER: That is, in pity. Or in
bewilderment -- about what course of action to take.
BUT JACOB DID NOT SEND BENJAMIN, JOSEPH'S BROTHER, WITH THE
OTHERS, BECAUSE HE WA AFRAID THAT HARM MIGHT COME TO HIM: Perh Jacob had
some lingering doubt about the fate of Joseph. (Benjamin was now his favorite in
place of Joseph.)
See Jer 30:21.
ALTHOUGH JOSEPH RECOGNIZED HIS BROTHERS, THEY DID NOT
RECOGNIZE HIM: "Who is this?" (Psa 24; Isa 63:1). Mourning for only son: Zec
12:10. When last they had seen him, he had been a boy of 17; this is almost 20
years later. But they had been mature men before, and would not have changed
considerably in 20 years (WP 97). Also, note Joseph's different style of
Joseph's actions here seem to have been inspired -- as a way
of fulfilling the promise of Gen 15:13,14: "Know for certain that your
descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be
enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they
serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions." Cp
Gen 46:2-4; 50:20,24.
YOUR SERVANTS WERE TWELVE BROTHERS: A change in
accepting Joseph as true brother (WHGT 44).
AND THIS IS HOW YOU WILL BE TESTED: "The last thing
Joseph had seen of his brothers was when they ripped his coat off him, threw him
into a pit ready to kill him and then sold him as a slave. Even as brothers who
were united in their hatred of Joseph, they still could not get on with each
other when it came to getting rid of Joseph. One wanted to rescue him, others
wanted to kill him and others wanted to sell him. Joseph's ten brothers were far
from honest men -- they were liars, cheats and almost murderers.
"There was a big change in their maturity when Joseph next saw
them. When Joseph suggested that they might be spies, his brothers replied,
'Your servants are honest men, not spies.'
"So tests were set to find out if what Joseph's brothers had
said was true. Would they measure up to the standard of honest men? This time
they showed unity, self-sacrifice, repentance, honesty, generosity and humility
-- qualities that showed that they had changed and had become honest men.
"The test is on for us too. We claim to be honest men,
servants of Christ -- how do we measure up? Has our life changed since before we
became a Christian? Have we matured? Have we developed the Christ-like character
he expects from us? One day the judgement will come and may we, like Joseph's
brothers, be accepted" (RP).
SO THAT YOUR WORDS MAY BE TESTED: Tested by "fire" (1Co
3:13) -- ie the fire of trial.
CUSTODY: Not a true prison, as Joseph had spent time
The definition of repentance: conscience, memory, and change.
Their own consciences accuse themselves.
"The time of Jacob's trouble" (Jer 30:7). When this last
trouble comes on Jacob's children, a greater-than-Joseph will arise to save
them, but only after they acknowledge the wrong they have done to him.
DIDN'T I TELL YOU?... BUT YOU WOULDN'T LISTEN: Only now
does Joseph learn of Reuben's innocence. // Mat 27:24: "I am innocent of this
Seven meetings: here; Gen 42:30; 45:2,14; 46:29;
The "Savior" provides for them on their journey, at no cost to
"It is the price of blood!"
YOU HAVE DEPRIVED ME OF MY CHILDREN: By now, Jacob had
realized that his sons were responsible for Joseph's fate!
Note Reuben's concern for Benjamin (who would be Jacob's new
favorite in Joseph's absence). Reuben has changed considerably since he tried to
assert his own "rights" by taking Bilhah.
It is plain that Jacob did not trust them with