Joseph has experienced a major turn around in his life. What looked like a life ruined by his brothers hatred and jealousy has been dramatically reversed by God. Joseph went from prisoner to prime minister in a matter of moments in Genesis 41. At 30 years old, Joseph is running Egypt and only Pharaoh is greater than him. But there is a subtle reminder in the text that this story is not about Joseph but about what God is working through Joseph to accomplish his plans. You see this reminder in Genesis 41:49. We are told that the grain Joseph stored up was like “the sand of the sea” and it could not be measured. This is the same language that God used when he told Abraham regarding the number of his offspring (cf. Genesis 22:17). God said this again to Jacob in Genesis 32:12, confirming that God would carry out this promise through Jacob. God’s promises are going to be accomplished through Joseph’s elevation to power. But what we are going to see in these chapters is that Joseph still does not know or understand what is happening or what God is doing. What we are going to see is Joseph is still working through it.
The Attitude of Joseph (Genesis 41:50-57)
We are told in Genesis 41:45 that Joseph name is changed to an Egyptian name. Further, Joseph marries Asenath, the daughter of the priest of On. In Genesis 41:50 we see that Joseph has two sons. The names of these sons reveals the attitude that Joseph has in his life now. Joseph is about 37 years old, 20 years removed from living at home with his family. He is 20 years removed from being sold into slavery by his brothers. Listen to the names of his sons.
The first son is named Manasseh. The reason for his name is given in verse 51. “God has made me forget all my hardship and my whole family” (Genesis 41:51 CSB). I want us to see what Joseph said God has done for him. God has made Joseph forget all of the trouble and hardships that he had in the past. Who would ever think that Joseph would ever be able to say this? You would think Joseph’s life was ruined forever after what his brothers did to him. But his life was not ruined even though it looked like it. Instead, God has worked so powerfully in Joseph’s life that he is able to say that he has forgotten all his past troubles. But I want you to notice what else Joseph has forgotten. God has made Joseph also forget his whole family. Joseph is no longer in Egypt wanting to go back to his father’s house. Joseph does not wake up each morning wishing he could go back to the way things were when he was a teenager. God has made his forget his painful past and his painful family. I want us to see that God has the power to do this. God has the power to wash away the past. God has the power to erase the pain that you have experienced in your life.
But now look at the name of the second son. He is called Ephraim. The reason for his name is given in verse 52. “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction” (Genesis 41:52 CSB). Not only does God have the power to make Joseph forget the painful people and painful circumstances of his past, he also has the power to bless your future. Joseph says that God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction. God has given me a whole new life in Egypt. God has blessed me even though I have gone through great life difficulties. God has the power to make you forget the past and move forward with God’s blessings in your new circumstances.
Things appear to have turned around for Joseph. The famine begins and Egypt is prepared because God was with Joseph. The people of Egypt now go to Joseph for instructions on how to survive the famine (Genesis 41:55). If you want to have bread, then do what Joseph tells you to do. Not only is Egypt affected by the famine, but the earth is affected by it so that people from all over are coming to Egypt to buy grain (Genesis 41:57).
Brought Back To Pain (Genesis 42:1-17)
But this is not the end of Joseph’s story because this was not God’s full plan. The plan was not to merely reverse his life from the trouble he experienced. There was so much more God had in store for Joseph and for the world. Genesis 42 opens with the problem that Jacob and his family are suffering from the famine. They are running out of food. So Jacob instructs his sons to go to Egypt and buy grain. But you will notice that Jacob only sends ten of his sons. He does not send Benjamin with them (Genesis 42:3-4). Joseph is the governor who is selling the grain to the peoples who are coming for food. So Joseph’s ten brothers arrive in Egypt and they bow down before Joseph (Genesis 42:6). Please notice verses 7-8. Joseph recognized his brothers but his brothers do not recognize him. It has been more than 20 years. Joseph looks different than when he was 17. Joseph looks different because he looks like an Egyptian now.
Is this not how life works? Just when you think you have moved forward and forgotten your past, God brings your past back into play. Just when you think you have forgotten, something happens so that you remember. So here is Joseph who has forgotten his past troubles and his family now being reminded of his family and all that they did to him. What is Joseph going to do? Look again at verse 7. Joseph recognized them but treated them like strangers and spoke harshly to them. Now does this sound familiar? Remember we were told in Genesis 37 that the brothers could not speak peaceably with Joseph (Genesis 37:4). Now Joseph does not speak peaceably with his brothers. Instead, he speaks harshly to them and treats them like strangers. Not only does Joseph speak to them harshly, but Joseph also calls his brothers spies (Genesis 37:9). Why do you think that Joseph is doing this? Why doesn’t Joseph immediately reveal himself? Why doesn’t he tell them who he is? Why doesn’t Joseph just give them a hug and tell them that he is okay? Why does he speak harshly to his brothers and call them spies?
You will notice that we are given one more piece of important information in verse 9. Joseph remembered the dreams he had of his brothers. Do you remember those dreams from Genesis 37? Joseph’s first dream was that his brothers would bow down to him (Genesis 37:5-8). Also remember that his brothers rejected that dream. But now the dream has been fulfilled. What God told Joseph in a dream more than 20 years ago has come to pass. It took more than 20 years to happen. But now it has occurred. But Joseph calls his brothers spies and speaks harshly to them, rather than revealing himself to them.
The brothers respond that they are not spies but are honest men who are all sons from one father (Genesis 42:10). Joseph does not listen to them and continues to calls them spies. The brothers offer up more information. They say that that they are 12 brothers. The youngest is back home with their father and one brother is no more. Please notice that they say that they believe Joseph is dead. But again notice that Joseph does not reveal himself but continues the harsh treatment, calling them spies. So he says that he is going to test these men by putting them all in prison. One of them will be allowed to go back and bring back this youngest son (Benjamin) to prove that they are not spies. With this declaration he puts his ten brothers in prison for three days (Genesis 42:17). Why does Joseph put them in prison? Joseph knows that these men are not lying. He knows that they are not spies. But he puts them in prison for three days. I believe the reason why Joseph has not revealed himself and has been harsh with his brothers is because he is still working through all of this. He had forgotten all the pain of the past and now the pain stands in front of him. In this moment, Joseph appears to give his brothers a small taste of what they had done to him. They are getting a chance to see what Joseph has endured because of his brothers’ hatred.
New Mercies (Genesis 42:18-38)
Verse 18 begins, “On the third day….” In the scriptures we know that when you read about things happening on the third day that restoration and reversal are coming. On the third day Joseph changes the terms regarding his brothers. After Joseph has been thinking about these things for three days, Joseph has a different offer and a different disposition. Joseph tells his brothers that he fears God and they need to listen to him so that they will all live. This also mirrors what his brothers did to him. His brothers were at first going to kill him but then changed their minds and sold him into slavery. Joseph was going to keep them all in prison but now he is offering them a chance for life. In verse 19 Joseph says that he is going to keep one of the brothers in prison and allow the rest to go back home. But they need to bring the youngest brother back so that they will not die.
But this starts a discussion among the brothers. Look at verse 21 and notice what they say to one another. They say that the reason this trouble has come upon them is because they are guilty concerning their brother. They saw Joseph in his distress and how he begged them for his life, and they did not listen. Reuben, the oldest brother, inserts himself further into this discussion. Reuben reminds them that he told them not to harm the boy. I told you to leave him alone but you did not listen. “So now there comes a reckoning for his blood” (Genesis 42:22). They believe Joseph is dead and that they are now going to give an account for his death by dying in Egypt. So they are terrified and they are feeling the guilt for what they did to their brother. Look at verse 23. Joseph heard all of this but the brothers did not know he could understand what they were saying because in their prior discussions an interpreter was used. So they do not know that the prime minister of Egypt speaks Hebrew. Joseph hears this discussion between them and it moves Joseph. In verse 24 Joseph has to go away from them crying. But Joseph does not return and reveal himself. Joseph does not change course. He has a plan that he is going to carry out. So Joseph returns to his brothers and reveals nothing. But notice what he does in verse 24. Joseph imprisons Simeon. Why do you think he imprisoned Simeon? Verse 22 appears to reveal the answer. Joseph just found out that Reuben had tried to rescue him. He just learned that Reuben tried to save Joseph and keep all of this from happening to him. So he does not put the oldest in custody but the second oldest, Simeon. Simeon is put into prison before their eyes (Genesis 42:24).
I also want us to see that Joseph’s heart appears to be softening. Rather than keeping all the brothers in jail, he only will keep one in jail until they return with Benjamin. Further, Joseph sells his brothers grain, filling their bags. But Joseph also does something else. He puts the money back in their bags that they used to buy the grain (Genesis 42:25). The brothers go back and explain to their father, Jacob, all that happened in Egypt. But then they also find the money replaced in their bags. Verse 28 tells us that their hearts sank when they saw it because they are afraid that they are now going to be killed for stealing grain from Egypt. Listen to what they say. “What is this that God has done to us” (Genesis 42:28)? They also tell Jacob that they have to return to Egypt with Benjamin to prove that they are not spies. Jacob rejects this idea outright. Joseph is dead. Simeon is dead. Now you want to take Benjamin (Genesis 42:36). Reuben steps up and says that he will guarantee Benjamin’s safety under the threat of his own two sons being killed (Genesis 42:37). But Jacob rejects the offer. Benjamin is not going to Egypt and so the brothers remain in Canaan. Simeon remains in prison. Jacob believes Joseph and Simeon are both dead and he is not going to risk losing any more children.
Still Working Through It
What I want us to see in Genesis 41-42 is that we are reading about a number of people who are still working through it. The brothers are still working through the guilt and the sin of what they did to their brother. They believe that they sent Joseph to his death. They are carrying the guilt and believe that they are worthy of justice against them for their sin. We also see that Joseph is still working through what his brothers did to him. Joseph is a man in progress. The brothers are works in progress. Everyone is working through it. Everyone is starting the transformation process. We sometimes read the people of the scriptures and think that they arrived at their faith on day one. But everyone is shown to be works in progress. Everyone is shown as needing to grow their faith and be transformed by God’s power. In fact I want us to see that God is using the circumstances of their lives to accomplish his transforming work. The New Testament also teaches us this idea.
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith — more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire — may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:6-7 ESV)
Peter tells us that we need trials so that our faith can be tested and purified so that it results in God’s praise, honor, and glory. Now I want to think about this idea. Peter does not say that your faith is already purified. Rather, your faith is in process. Your faith is being tested and purified through trials. God is working on you through the trial so that your faith can become what it needs to be so that God is honored and glorified when Jesus returns. Listen to how the apostle Paul said this to the Corinthians.
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV)
Notice that Paul describes these Christians as being in process. They are being transformed into the image of his glory. We are not there but we are being transformed. I believe the reason Joseph does not reveal himself or speak kindly to his brothers is that he is not there yet. Joseph is still working through it. Joseph is still in process. I am not saying that he was right in his treatment of his brothers. I am saying that he was still spiritually growing to that point. Think about times in your life when you look back and you should have done better. You see it now. You should have been kind. You should have been forgiving. You should have been gracious. You should have done better. We see now what we should have done because God has been working on us. We were still working through it. We need to appreciate the progress God is accomplishing in our lives. We should see the progress and transformation God is doing in us. We were not where we needed to be. But God is patient and gracious. God is still giving us time to change and grow. God is helping us to forget our past and forget our pain. God is working to bless us in the land of our affliction and mold us to be who he wants us to be. Let God work in your life through the trials and pains of life. See the progress God has worked. Keep growing. Keep transforming. Keep seeking what God is doing to make us more in the image of his Son.