Joseph’s brothers had no idea how much they were loved until God used a crisis to show them. “The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold them to the Egyptians. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt. …When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, ‘Why do you look at one another?’ And he said, ‘Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may live and not die.’” (Genesis 41:56; 42:1-3 NKJV).
Twenty years had passed since Joseph’s brothers had sold him into slavery. Now he was prime minister of Egypt, and he had been storing grain for seven years in preparation for what he knew was a coming widespread famine. His brothers thought they were going to Egypt to buy corn, but God had bigger plans. Deserving nothing but judgment, they would instead experience mercy and restoration.
I always find it impossible to read this part of the story without tears. It is a beautiful picture of the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ for all who have failed him.
As the brothers stood before Joseph in Pharoah’s court, they didn’t recognize him, but he knew them immediately (see Genesis 42:8). There they were, bowing down to him just as he had dreamed. Was Joseph angry? No, his heart was filled with compassion at the sight of his beloved brothers.
So why did he then accuse them of being spies? I once thought Joseph was getting a bit of revenge, but that was not his motive. He was actually following God's direction. These proud men needed to face the ugliness and guilt of their sin and understand that mercy was their only hope.
Joseph put his brothers in prison for three days to give them a chance to face the truth, and it worked. “Then they said to one another, ‘We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us.’” (Genesis 42:21).
This is the beautiful message of the cross of Christ. When we reach the end of ourselves, his divine mercy and grace deliver us from all condemnation.