Joseph - the Guilt of His Brothers

 

On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: if you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody, and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households, and bring your youngest brother to me. So your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so. Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” And Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.” (Genesis 42:18–22 ESV).

 

In this part of Joseph’s story we are about 20 years past Joseph’s brothers selling him into slavery. However, it doesn’t take long for their sense of guilt to return when this harsh-speaking ruler in Egypt demands that one brother stay as a hostage.

 

I’m in the process of finishing an essay titled “the Chickens Always come Home to Roost.” (I will make it available when it is finished of course). The gist of the essay is underscored in our reading today. While it’s one thing to suppress a sin, it’s quite another to erase it. Guilt—even old guilt—haunts us until it is fully confessed and forgiven.

 

Perhaps this guilt is what kept the brothers from going down to Egypt in the first place. They may have been afraid that they would somehow meet Joseph and their sin would come out into the open. It took a bit of chiding from their father, telling them to do something about the lack of food, to finally pry them loose and compel them to go.

 

So, after being kept in custody for three days, and then told that one of them must stay in prison while the others bring their youngest brother, the truth finally pops out. And Joseph hears it all, though his brothers don’t realize he can understand them, for he has been using an interpreter.

 

In response, Joseph turns away and begins to weep. But it is too soon to extend mercy to his guilty brothers. Conscience pangs are a beginning, but the brothers are not yet confessing and seeking forgiveness. They had not yet learned the essential nature of repentance. We have a difficult time with that as well. While we are forgiven, our hearts are truly cleansed in the act of confession. This is a season of such action. Be free from the shame and guilt you are carrying from your hidden sins. John wrote: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 ESV).