knew them by many a satisfactory token, but they knew not him, little thinking to find him there, v. 8. He remembered the dreams, (v. 9.) but they had forgotten them. The laying up of God's oracles in our hearts, will be of excellent use to us in all our conduct. Joseph had an eye to his dreams which he knew to be divine, in his carriage toward his brethren, and aimed at the accomplishment of them, and the bringing of his brethren to repentance for their former sins; and both those points were gained.
1. He showed himself very rigorous and harsh with them; the very manner of his speaking, considering the post he was in, was enough to frighten them; for he spake roughly to them, v. 7. He charged them with bad designs against the government, (v. 9.) treated them as dangerous persons. Ye are spies, protesting by the life of Pharaoh that they were so, v. 16. Some make that an oath, others make it no more than a vehement asseveration, like that, as thy soul liveth; however, it was more than yea, yea, and nay, nay, and therefore came of evil. Note, Bad words are soon learned by converse with those that use them, but not so soon unlearned. Joseph, by being much at court, got the courtier's oath, By the life of Pharaoh; perhaps designed hereby to confirm his brethren in their belief that he was an Egyptian, and not an Israelite; they knew this was not the language of a son of Abraham; when Peter would prove himself no disciple of Christ, he cursed and swore. Now, why was Joseph thus hard upon his brethren? We may be sure it was not from a spirit of revenge, that he might trample upon them now, who had formerly trampled upon him; he was not a man of that temper. But, (1.) It was to enrich his own dreams, and complete the accomplishment of them. (2.) It was to bring them to repentance. (3.) It was to get out of them an account of the state of their family, which he longed to know: they would have discovered him, if he had asked as a friend, therefore he asks as a judge. Not seeing his brother Benjamin with them, perhaps he began to suspect that they had made away with him too, and therefore gives them occasion to speak of their father and brother. Note, God in his providence sometimes seems harsh with those he loves, and speaks roughly to those whom he has yet great mercy in store for.
They, hereupon, were very submissive; they spake to him with all the respect imaginable; Nay, my lord; (v. 10.) a great change since they said, Behold, this dreamer comes. They very modestly deny the charge, We are no spies; they tell him their business, that they came to buy food, a justifiable errand, and the same that many strangers came to Egypt upon at this time; they undertake to give a particular account of themselves and their family; (v. 13.) that was what he wanted.
3. He clapped them all up in prison for three days, v. 17. Thus God deals with the souls he designs for special comfort and honour; he first humbles them, and terrifies them, and brings them under a spirit of bondage, and then binds up their wounds by the spirit of adoption.
4. He concluded with them, at last, that one of them should be left as an hostage, and the rest should go home and fetch Benjamin. It was a very encouraging word he said to them, (v. 18.) I fear God; as if he had said, "You may assure yourselves I will do you no wrong; I dare not, for I know that, high as I am, there is one higher than I." Note, With those that fear God, we have reason to expect fair dealing. The fear of God will be a check upon those that are in power, to restrain them from abusing their power to oppression and tyranny; those that have no one else to stand in awe of, ought to stand in awe of their own consciences. See Neh. 5. 15, So did not I, because of the fear of God.
21. And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us. 22. And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? Therefore, behold, also, his blood is required. 23. And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter. 24. And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes. 25. Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus did he unto them. 26. And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence. 27. And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for, behold, it was in his sack's mouth. 28. And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us?
Here is,
I. The penitent reflection Joseph's brethren made upon the wrong they had formerly done to him, v. 21. They talked the matter over in the Hebrew tongue, not suspecting that Joseph, whom they took for a native of Egypt, understood them, much less that he was the person they spake of. 1. They remembered with regret the barbarous cruelty wherewith they persecuted him, We are verily guilty concerning our brother: we do not read that they said this, during their three days' imprisonment; but now when the matter was come to some issue, and they saw themselves still embarrassed, now they began to relent. Perhaps Joseph's mention of the fear of God, (v. 18.) put them upon consideration, and extorted this reflection. Now see here, (1.) The office of conscience; it is a remembrancer, to bring to mind things long since said and done, to show us wherein we have erred, though it was long ago, as this reflection here was above twenty years after the sin was committed. As time will not wear out the guilt of sin, so it will not blot out the records of conscience; when the guilt of this sin of Joseph's brethren was fresh, they made light of it, and sat down to eat bread; but now, long afterward, their consciences reminded them of it. (2.) The benefit of afflictions; they often prove the happy and effectual means of awakening conscience, and bringing sin to our remembrance, Job 13. 26. (3.) The evil of guilt concerning our brethren; of all their sins, that was it that conscience now reproached them for; whenever we think we have wrong done us, we ought to remember the wrong we have done to others, Ecc. 7. 21. 22. 2. Reuben only remembered with comfort, that he had been an advocate for his brother, and had done what he could to prevent the mischief they did him, (v. 22.) Spake
