Genesis 42: 29-38
Now that Joseph's dreams are coming true, and Pharaoh's dreams are coming true; Joseph is opening the grain bins to everyone in the world who can come to buy some, so his own brothers show up to also get food for their families among all those in the Canaan caravan. When they are recognized by Joseph, he is greatly encouraged, but he has to test them first. And he really wants to see his little brother, too, after 20+ years. So he keeps Simeon in the elite jail he had been in, to encourage them to bring Benjamin to Egypt.
(29) When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them, saying, (30) The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly with us, and took us for spies of the country. (31) But we said to him, 'We are honest men; we are not spies. (32) We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no longer alive, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.'
They are recounting their adventures in Egypt, and they tell their father that they were truthful to this stern ruler, admitting their family relationships, only this time they mention Joseph being "dead" before telling of Benjamin.
To the "foreign" lord of Egypt they named the living before the "dead," but to their father, they listed them in birth order.
(33) "The man, the lord of the land, said to us, 'By this I will know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me and take grain for the famine of your households, and go. (34) But bring your youngest brother to me that I may know that you are not spies, but honest men. I will give your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.'"
They left out that this lord of Egypt was going to keep all of them, and only let one go home to get the little brother. They seem to be unaware of this ruler's graciousness in letting them all go home and just keeping one for insurance, and allowing them to bring food for their families.
(35) Now it came about as they were emptying their sacks, that behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were dismayed.
Not only the one who discovered his money in his sack on the way home, but all of them found that none of them actually paid for their grain! Now will they be accused of robbing the Egyptians? Things seem to be going from bad to worse!
(36) Their father Jacob said to them, "You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and you would take Benjamin; all these things are against me."
And Jacob is going into despair! Oh, woe is me! Everything is going wrong! And you guys want to make it even worse! Not only will I never see Joseph again, now I'll never see Simeon again, either! And you want to take my little Benjamin, too!
(37) Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, "You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my care, and I will return him to you."
Then Reuben, who talked his brothers out of killing Joseph, is now sticking up for Benjamin, too, putting his own sons on the line if he can't bring their little brother back safely to their father.
(38) But Jacob said, "My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If harm should befall him on the journey you are taking, then you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow."
But Jacob doesn't want to lose any grandchildren, either! He just doesn't trust that they can keep him safe, he feels that he must protect this "little one," the only other son of his favorite wife Rachel, who is now also dead. He's the last one from her.
I wonder what the brothers were thinking, with Jacob's favoritism. This is what prompted them to get rid if Joseph in the first place.
But it's now over 20 years later, and they have all grown older and had their own families, and maybe they're coming to accept the dysfunction in their family, or have come to the conclusion that Jacob is Jacob, and will never change.
Now Jacob is thinking that things will just continue to go as they've been going, and he has to try to make sure nothing can happen to this last child of Rachel. That his other sons will just keep on grieving him until he dies.
So as it stands, Joseph is considered dead by his father, but is waiting again, Simeon is locked away in a foreign jail, and, even though they can now feed their families, they will have to bring Benjamin with them if the famine continues longer than their grain will hold out.
And Jacob doesn't see any light at the end of the tunnel.
Joseph never did give in to the circumstances he found himself in, but was able to see the good in it, and turn it around into prospering. Even three times that he did right, but it resulted negatively, he turned it into a positive.
Now Joseph is trying to see if his brothers have learned anything. It looks like each character in this play is still maintaining their personalities throughout the performance. Joseph is still joyfully faithful. Simeon is still maintaining his support of Joseph. His brothers are feeling the guilt of what they did to him. And Jacob has dropped into a morose stubbornness to try to hang on to what he feels he has left.
O my Father, Your ways are so far above our ways! You will let Your favorites go through so much sorrow and trouble and dismay. You have told us that You will scourge every son that You receive into Your family (Hebrews 12: 6), so we see You leaving these precious sons of Yours in adverse circumstances for great lengths of time before they are resolved. But when they continue to trust in You, in spite of their surroundings, and even when they just sit in their own misery, You will still bring the resolution in Your time.
My Father, Your timing is perfect. You are never early or late. We cannot usually see how You're going to work out our troubles, but I want to continue to trust Your timing in my life, too. Help me to keep on keeping on as I wait for Your next step on the path You have placed my feet. Let my patience and perseverance that You are building in my character have a positive influence on others whose lives touch mine in any way. Let my efforts to promote Your kingdom bear the luscious fruit of new births and growth to maturity in those who encounter my works that You planned before time for me to accomplish.
O Father, continue to lead me every day to do what needs to be done each day, so that I can be responsible and gracious and generous. Keep building the character of Christ in me, and enable me to reach all of everyone who needs to hear what You are having me say.
And Father, send out all of Your children to share with everyone in every nation, so that every living person will be able to hear and perceive Your great love for each of us, in providing for all we need to be saved from ourselves and redeemed from this Earthly life, through Your only-begotten Son, Christ Jesus.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
