STUDY

In the continuing series reflecting on the life of Joseph, the Very Rev Colin Sinclair considers how the past can catch up as detailed in Genesis: 42 and 43.

TWENTY years is a long time and a lot of water has flowed under the bridge. Some things are never mentioned, neither are they forgotten. You can do many lifechanging things in that time but you cannot erase a guilty conscience.

Joseph’s brothers no doubt assumed that Joseph was dead. Slaves do not live for a long time. They could not bring him back or undo the past, so they had to get on with it. Joseph, however, was very much alive, and had been the Prime Minister of Egypt for nine years. The skeletons are coming out of the cupboard. How will they cope having to face their past?

Joseph is now 39 and has used the years of plenty to gather in all the surplus harvest and store it for the lean years they now face. A vast famine grips the Middle East but Jacob hears there is food in Egypt. He sends his sons to buy some, for them and their livestock. They have no idea who he is when they stand before Joseph, dressed as an Egyptian, speaking through an interpreter,

This is not simply a story about the fall and rise of Joseph. It is about God’s care for the family and Joseph’s desire for true reconciliation and healing. This was his family and he longed to be part of it again. However, first he needed the answer to some hard questions. Do they still hate me? Will they own up to their treachery? Do they even want me in the family again? He wants them back in his life; do they want him back in theirs?

In chapters 42 and 43 God uses a series of tests to awaken their consciences – the famine; the harsh treatment by Joseph; the three days in prison; the detention of Simeon; the demand to see Benjamin; and the strange case of the returned money.

“When Benjamin is treated better than the others, they resisted the temptation to the envy that had driven them to act against Joseph before.

Suddenly life is out of their control and they feel vulnerable. Strangers in a strange land, they are uncertain and unsure what is happening. Even coming to Egypt reminded them that this was where they had sent Joseph so many years before. The time in prison convicted them of how they had treated Joseph, despite him begging them to spare him. The work of repentance had begun. They also sensed that God was orchestrating events.

When they get home, Jacob resists their request to take Benjamin with them when they return, fearing the loss of both the sons of his favourite wife.

Eventually, however, hunger forces him to do so. Simeon is released and amazingly a banquet is prepared for them, with a seating plan that required “insider knowledge”.

When Benjamin is treated better than the others, they resisted the temptation to the envy that had driven them to act against Joseph before.

The time is coming for the brothers to own up to their misdeed. That will be in God’s timing and will be done the right way. There is one question worth asking to anyone who has been the victim of mistreatment by others; are you willing to trust God to deal with your injustice in his way and in his time, rather than letting bitterness grow in your heart until your enemy has gained a second and more serious victory over you?