Daily Scripture Reading Genesis 42:6-28

It is natural for people to act on their emotions and do harm to other people. Revenge is a strong motivator. Revenge can motivate people to harm or even kill other human beings.

What is not natural is thinking about the long-term ramifications of acting on your emotions. The long-term danger might be the risk of your opponent striking back. It could also be spending the rest of your life feeling guilty about what you have done. Guilt can be just as powerful as hatred or revenge.

Today’s passage illustrates the power of guilt to haunt people for years, perhaps decades, and warns us that, before we act on our emotions, we should think about the long term effects of that action.

When Joseph was around the age of 17, he had a dream that he and his brothers were binding sheaves. When his sheaf stood upright, the sheaves of his brothers bowed down to Joseph’s sheaf. When Joseph relayed his dream to his brothers, they interpreted his dream as a prediction that Joseph would reign over them, and they hated Joseph (see Genesis 37:5-8).

Sometime after that, Joseph’s brothers were going to kill Joseph, but Reuben talked them out of it. They sold Joseph instead, and Joseph became a slave in Egypt (see Genesis 37:18-28).

Years later, Joseph interpreted a dream for Pharaoh that indicated 7 years of plenty would be followed by a 7 year famine. Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of storing food during the good years so that they would have grain during the famine. Joseph stored so much grain that all the world began going to Egypt to buy food. This included Joseph’s ten older brothers who were sent by their father to buy grain from Egypt.

Gen. 42:6 ¶ Now Joseph was the one in power over the land; he was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.

This fulfilled Joseph’s dream about his brother’s sheaves bowing down to his sheaf.

Gen. 42:7 And Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he disguised himself to them and spoke to them harshly. And he said to them, “Where have you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”

Notice the words “disguised” and “harshly”. Joseph displayed a lot of patience and self-control in how he handled his interactions with his brothers.

Gen. 42:8 ¶ But Joseph recognized his brothers, although they did not recognize him.

Gen. 42:9 And Joseph remembered the dreams which he had about them and said to them, “You are spies; you have come to look at the nakedness of the land.”

Look at the phrase “remembered the dreams”. Joseph was aware that his brothers had just fulfilled his dream.

All Joseph said to his brothers was they they had come to spy out the land.

Gen. 42:10 Then they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food.

Gen. 42:11 We are all sons of one man; we are honest men; your servants are not spies.”

Gen. 42:12 And he said to them, “No, but you have come to look at the nakedness of our land!”

Joseph repeated his accusation that the brothers were spying out the land.

Gen. 42:13 So they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers in all, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more.”

Think about how much information the brothers voluntarily revealed when Joseph kept repeating the same accusation. Repetition is a powerful technique that can be used in business and parenting.

Gen. 42:14 And Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you, you are spies;

Gen. 42:15 by this you will be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here!

Gen. 42:16 Send one of you that he may get your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. But if not, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.”

Gen. 42:17 Then he put them all together in prison for three days.

Don’t miss the fact that they were in prison for three days. That was a long time for them to ponder their predicament.

Gen. 42:18 ¶ And Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God:

Gen. 42:19 if you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in your prison; but as for the rest of you, go, bring grain for the famine of your households,

Gen. 42:20 and bring your youngest brother to me, so your words may be proven true, and you will not die.” And they did so.

Gen. 42:21 Then they said to one another, “Surely we are guilty concerning our brother because we saw the distress of his soul when he begged us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us.”

Look at the words “distress” and “begged”. Those words convey the emotions that surrounded the sale of Joseph.

Take note of the word “guilty”. By this point Joseph was close to 40 years old. Joseph’s brothers had sold him when he was around 20 years old. 20 years after selling Joseph, Joseph’s brothers had so much guilt bottled up inside that when something bad happened, they assumed they were being punished for selling Joseph.

Gen. 42:22 And Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not tell you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; yet you would not listen? So also his blood, behold, it is required of us.”

Reuben was the one who talked his brothers out of killing Joseph because he intended to return Joseph back to their father (see Genesis 37:22).

Gen. 42:23 Now they did not know that Joseph was listening, for there was an interpreter between them.

Gen. 42:24 And he turned away from them and wept. Then he returned to them and spoke to them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.

Notice the word “wept”. It is hard to fathom all the emotions that Joseph may have been having at that moment. Joseph had endured much suffering due to the actions of his brothers, but they were expressing remorse. Also, now that he had contact with his brothers, he would have had hope he could see his father again.

Gen. 42:25 Then Joseph gave a command to fill their bags with grain and to restore every man’s money in his sack and to give them provisions for the journey. And thus it was done for them.

Don’t miss the fact that Joseph gave them their money back without them knowing it.

Gen. 42:26 ¶ So they loaded their donkeys with their grain and went from there.

Gen. 42:27 Then one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place. And he saw his money; and behold, it was in the mouth of his sack.

Gen. 42:28 So he said to his brothers, “My money has been returned, and behold, it is even in my sack.” And their hearts sank, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”

It is natural for people to act on their emotions and do harm to other people. Revenge can motivate people to harm or even kill other human beings.

What is not natural is thinking about the long-term ramifications of acting on your emotions. The long-term danger might be spending the rest of your life feeling guilty about what you have done.

Today’s passage illustrates the power of guilt to haunt people for years, perhaps decades, and warns us that, before we act on our emotions, we should think about the long term effects of that action.

What mistake did you make decades ago that continues to haunt you?

What can you do to make sure you don’t make more mistakes that will have long-term consequences?

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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”