Genesis

WE now take up again the thread of God’s direct purposes with Israel as exemplified in the story of Joseph in Egypt. More links in the wonderful chain of Providence come before us. The famine was affecting other lands besides Egypt, and it was the need of Jacob and his household that brought Joseph and his brethren once more together.

In some way or other Jacob had been informed that there was corn in Egypt, and in view of the great need of himself and his family he expostulated with his sons, and urged them to go down thither. The brethren were evidently perplexed and undecided. Their father’s words, "Why do ye look one upon another?" may possibly have reference to their awakening consciousness of what Egypt might mean to them. The name clearly called up memories which they would much prefer not to have brought before them. However, the pressure of need brought their in decision and hesitation to an end, and they started from home to go down and buy corn in Egypt. Only ten of Joseph’s brethren took the journey, for Jacob would not allow his youngest son Benjamin to accompany them. He was the last and only comfort of the old man’s life, and it would have been the crowning disaster and sorrow if anything had happened to him. We can well imagine the feelings of the ten brethren as they journeyed to Egypt and recalled the events of twenty years before. They little knew what was in store for them, and it was well that they did not, for it might easily have led to troubles of various kinds for themselves and their father. It is a merciful Providence which hides the future from our view, and calls upon us to take one step at a time, and to learn the spiritual meaning and significance of each event in the retrospect of experience.

At length the brethren came face to face with the great Governor of Egypt, and they bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth. Thus all unconsciously they fulfilled his early dreams (Gen 37:7) which had been such a cause of offence to them. It is not at all surprising that they did not recognize Joseph, for the changes in his appearance between the ages of seventeen and thirty-eight, together with his Egyptian language, appearance and position, would effectually prevent them from associating their young brother with the great personage before whom they stood.

His hard treatment of them has been criticized as at once unnecessary and unworthy, but it still remains a question whether he did not do the very best for them under the circumstances. Joseph was undoubtedly prompted by principle in taking these steps, and it would have been weakness of the highest and most culpable kind to have revealed himself prematurely before discovering the real character of the brothers after the long lapse of time. It is an old saying that the longest way round is the shortest way home, and we have a striking example of this in Joseph’s treatment of his brethren. In view of the fact that God was so real a power in his life, there does not seem much doubt that he was divinely guided in what he did. It was essential that their character should be tested, and if there was no change in them that an endeavour should be made to bring about an improvement. Joseph thereupon charged them with being spies come to see the unfortified and unprotected position of the land. Their answer was to repel with earnestness this charge, and their language is very significant when they say, "Thy servants are twelve brethren . . . the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not." If this reference to Joseph represents their true mind, they evidently believed that he was dead, but the phrase "twelve brethren" is very suggestive, and even beautiful. Like Wordsworth’s "We are Seven," they considered that the family circle was still intact, notwithstanding their brother’s death. Is there not some hint here of an improvement in their spiritual condition?

Joseph lets them understand that he is not prepared to take their bare word of denial, and requires a definite proof of their sincerity and truthfulness. He makes a proposal that one of them shall return home and fetch their youngest brother, in order that it may be evident that they are speaking the truth. Thereupon he puts them in prison for three days, doubtless to give them time to consider and consult about this proposal. It is impossible to avoid associating the pit into which they thrust him with the prison into which he put them, and it would seem as though Joseph himself had this association in mind. In any case, we know that the memory of the past became acute, and their sin was brought vividly before them.

At the end of three days they had their second interview with the Governor of Egypt, and at the outset there was a note of encouragement in Joseph’s assurance that he feared God. The way in which God is associated with the life of Joseph, as expressed in his words, is one of the most beautiful features of the narrative. Several instances have already come before us, and there are more to follow. Thus we remember how he said, "How can I do this . . . sin against God?" (Gen 39:9). "Do not interpretations belong unto God?" (Gen 41:8). God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace (Gen 41:16). God will shortly bring it to pass (Gen 41:32). God hath made me forget (Gen 41:51). Everything in Joseph’s life was guided and controlled by the thought of God. He there upon makes another proposal to the effect that one of them should be left behind and the others return home and bring their youngest brother down to Egypt.

At this point the brethren cannot refrain from connecting what they were then suffering with what they had caused Joseph to suffer over twenty years before. Conscience was now awake, and in the presence of the Governor of Egypt they admitted their guilt concerning their brother. Time does not blot out sin, nor has it any power over the conscience. Why these men should have had this sin so vividly brought to their recollection at this time is a point of very real interest. The law of association was undoubtedly at work. They were in Egypt; a simple fact that called up the memory of the Midianite merchantmen and their journey thither. They were all together in a strange land; another fact that might have had influence in calling to mind the deed which was done as the result of a former meeting together. Then again, they were in the power of a stranger whose force was infinitely stronger than their own; and this in turn may have had the effect of reminding them of the utter defenselessness of their young brother as they plotted his ruin and thrust him into the pit in spite of the anguish of soul and his cries for pity. The elements of true repentance as seen in these words of the brethren are very striking (a) Conscience: "We are verily guilty"; (b) Memory: "We saw the anguish"; (c) Reason: "Therefore is this distress come upon us."

At this point Reuben rebuked them and reminded them of what he himself had done. It was a case of weakness reproaching badness, and was not of any great moral value. Reuben was the unstable one, and it is easy for such a character to say, I told you so, while not having lifted a finger to remove the injustice or right the wrong. The whole tone of the brethren is, however, very striking in the change which had evidently been wrought during the twenty years in their thought of Joseph. In the old days he was scornfully stigmatized as this dreamer, but now he is our brother and the child. The mocking attitude had been changed for at least something of interest and sympathy, and they seem to be already experiencing a little of the truth that blood is thicker than water.

All this time they were, of course, perfectly unconscious that Joseph understood every word they were saying, and we can see his real feeling towards them in the fact that he was overcome by his emotions, and had to retire to weep in silence and to avoid recognition. On his return, as they had accepted his proposal, Simeon was the one selected to be kept, and he was thereupon bound before their eyes. We do not know exactly why it was that Simeon was chosen, but from the fact that Jacob on his deathbed could say nothing of good concerning him it is very probable that he was the ringleader in the action against Joseph, as he had been in the treachery against Hamor and Shechem.

Joseph’s command to restore every man’s money into his sack and to give them provision for the way is another indication of his true feelings towards them. There is nothing more striking in the character of Joseph than the utter absence of revengeful feeling, whether it was against his brethren, or against Potiphar, or against the chief butler. At each step of his journey he shows the true forgiving spirit of the man to whom God is a supreme and blessed reality. There are some people who never seem to get over slight and injustice. They brood over them and take almost every opportunity of pouring out their wrongs and indulging a revengeful spirit. To such people "Revenge is sweet" and they take a pleasure in repaying people in their own coin. Not so with Joseph. To revenge may be human, but to forgive is Divine.

The brethren had not gone far away before they discovered the money in their sacks, and when they found it their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us? They of course felt that they had no right to the money, and it is noteworthy that for the first time in the record God is brought into their life. Conscience was still making cowards of them, and they could not but associate the circumstance of the money in the sack with their past wrong-doing.

At length they arrived home and told their father all that had happened unto them. There were no lies this time, no deception of their aged father, and once again we are conscious of a decided improvement in the moral character of the men. Everything was told, and in particular the condition laid down by the Governor in Egypt about bringing their youngest brother with them. Their father felt the same fear that they did when he saw the money in their sacks, and the words of the old man show how keenly he took all this to heart. We wonder whether his words, "Me have ye bereaved of my children" (Gen 42:36), really expressed his deep conviction, in spite of what they had told him, and of the coat which they had brought home (Gen 37:33), that they had really put Joseph to death? Or it may be a mere general expression that it was through their instrumentality he had lost his beloved son.

We cannot help feeling sorry for this exhibition of faithlessness on the part of Jacob. It is a case of the old Jacob once more, and not the new Israel. As he had done very often in days gone by, he was looking entirely on the human side, and never thinking of the possibility of God having some wise purpose in all these events. All these things are against me was his sad and really faithless outburst, when as a simple fact all these things were definitely and directly in his favour. Four mistakes the old man made. He said Joseph was dead, when he was not; he seems to have thought Simeon could not remain alive in Egypt, when he was perfectly safe; he interpreted the taking of Benjamin as a loss to himself for ever; and then, as the crowning error, said that everything was against him. How short-sighted it is possible for a true believer to be! God’s never failing providence was as much at work at that moment as it had ever been in the early days of the patriarch’s chequered history.

Reuben now gets the better of his characteristic instability, and boldly offers his two sons as hostages if Benjamin is not brought safely back. It was a noble and generous offer, though, of course, it is difficult to see what power he could have to bring Benjamin back out of Egypt, or what good it would be to his father to slay the two sons if Benjamin did not return. But the father would not be persuaded, and by his refusal he not only delayed the truest and best interests of himself and his family, but hindered the development and progress of the Divine purposes of love and grace concerning them.

The chapter is full of varied lessons for life. Divine mercies and human experiences are crowded into almost every part.

Once again we observe the onward sweep of God’s providence concerning Joseph and Israel. There is no halt, no resting, but a constant, steady movement. Event after event is taken up and weaved into the plan; nothing is outside the Divine purpose, and everything is made to subserve it. Whether it be the lack of food to Jacob, or the power of memory in the brethren, or the opportunity of mercy in Joseph, everything tends to reveal the loving kindness of God and to realize His projects for them all. At the risk of repetition for the subject is full of it at every point we must not fail to cling closely to our belief in the constant providence of our Father in heaven. In these days, when law is said to reign supreme, when science can only speak of cause and effect, or at least of continuity, and Christian people are apt to concentrate attention on methods, principles, and laws rather than on the Source of all these things, it is particularly necessary to hold fast the old foundation belief that

Twenty and more years had elapsed since Joseph had experienced the cruelty and injustice of his brethren, and yet when he meets them again it is with feelings of deep affection. All that he says and does is really prompted by his devoted love for them and their best interests. There is nothing stronger in this world than human love. Its persistence, its forbearance, its self-sacrifice are writ large on the annals of the human race and constitute its noblest feature. And when, more over, this human affection is inspired and prompted and controlled by love to God, it is in truth the greatest thing in the world. Now, if human love is so great, so mighty, so enduring, what must Divine love be, of which the human is only a faint though blessed echo? If human love is the greatest thing in the world, Divine love is the greatest thing in the universe.

There are few passages more striking in the record of Holy Writ than the revelation of the power of conscience in the brethren of Joseph. The greatest punishment that a man can suffer is that which is within, and comes from a consciousness of guilt. The marvellous way in which circumstances combined to recall with intensity the events of over twenty years before is one of the most striking and significant features of the story. What a wonderful chain of simple ordinary events led to the revelation of the sin of the brethren! That they should be called to go into Egypt of all places, that they should endure hard usage at the hands of the Governor, that they should be cast into prison, and that they should be so manifestly under the absolute control of the power and mercy of the great personage, were so many links of memory that brought back to them their sin. Conscience is the knowing part of us that which knows together with God, and agrees with the revelation of right which comes from Him "con-science". It is worth while observing the seven different aspects of conscience referred to in the Scriptures a weak conscience (1Co 8:7), a defiled conscience (1Co 8:7), an evil conscience (Heb 10:22), a seared conscience (1Ti 4:2), a pure conscience (2Ti 1:3), a good conscience (1Pe 3:16), a beautiful conscience (Heb 13:18, Greek). The last point is of very special importance. There are consciences which, while intrinsically good, are not outwardly attractive to others, because they are full of scruples rather than principles. The true conscience will recommend itself by its moral beauty, and this is the kind of conscience men ought to see in the children of God. This is only possible when the conscience is kept pure through the blood of Christ by the Eternal Spirit (Heb 9:14).

We see in the story the remorse and sorrow of the brethren. Why were these not sufficient? Because a consciousness and even a confession of sin is no true evidence of an altered character. Joseph saw their change of mind as to the past, but it was necessary for him to know it with regard to the future as well. To be aware of sin is not repentance, for everything proves useless if the sin should be committed again. Right views of sin are one thing, to stop sinning is quite another. Joseph could not see this until the return of the brethren to Egypt, but we can observe in the narrative (Gen 42:29, Gen 42:37) the elements of a better life. Repentance, therefore, is a change of mind as to the past, and this we call penitence; it is also a change of will as to the future, and this we call obedience. In our childhood s days many of us learned what are still the very best definitions of repentance. One is in the Church Catechism, Repentance whereby we forsake sin. The other was in our hymn-book, though it is not often found in children’s hymn-books to-day:

At the end of the story we see this in the experience of Jacob. The old man made a list of his troubles, and on the face of it, all that he said was in a sense verbally true; and yet he made deplorable mistakes by drawing wrong deductions. We may put our own record of life in one column and argue accordingly, but we do not know all and we ought therefore to wait until we can put God’s record in the opposite column. Through judging by appearances Jacob proved himself to be utterly wrong; and while we dare not blame him for we ourselves do the same so often faithfulness compels us to observe that his earlier experiences might well have taught him to believe more truly in the unwearied faithfulness of God. He said "All these things are against me," and that is what we say as we continue to be occupied solely with circumstances. If, however, we would but look up above circumstances, we should see things as they really are, and thus be able to cry out with the Apostle, "All things work together for good." And we should say this because of our strong confidence that "all things are yours." The message is therefore clear. We must look up to God through and beyond circumstances. It was when Peter took his eyes off Christ and occupied his attention with the waves that he lost his faith and began to sink. Circumstances are only things that stand round us, and they can never do more than this. They do not shut out the sky or stand over us; and if only our gaze is ever fixed on God, and we believe to see the goodness of the Lord in spite of circumstances, we shall never be put to confusion.