Surprise, Surprise
Opening Prayer
All-powerful God, You hold all things in Your hand. Be present with me today and teach me new insights into Your greatness.
Read GENESIS 42:1–24
When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?” 2 He continued, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”
3 Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him. 5 So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also.
6 Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. 7 As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked.
“From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.”
8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. 9 Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”
10 “No, my lord,” they answered. “Your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies.”
12 “No!” he said to them. “You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”
13 But they replied, “Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”
14 Joseph said to them, “It is just as I told you: You are spies! 15 And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” 17 And he put them all in custody for three days.
18 On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: 19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. 20 But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.” This they proceeded to do.
21 They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come on us.”
22 Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood.” 23 They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter.
24 He turned away from them and began to weep, but then came back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Often it can take a long time for us to be aware of incidents from our past that need healing.
“I suffered a lot when my family broke up,” she told me. “But with time I thought God had helped put it behind me. But now I don’t know.” Joseph might understand. Was he naïve to name his first son Manasseh “because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household” (Gen. 41:51)?
After years of struggle, Joseph has his life together. He has a new family, a new home. His creative management is being put to best use as thousands are saved from starvation. The demands of work and household fill the mind space once occupied by homesickness. Then suddenly, the past he has dealt with turns up in the food queue. The teenage dream of brothers bowing before him materializes in an overwhelming déjà vu. Through long years, he must have pondered the meaning of that goading dream. He must have wondered, “What would I do if I saw my brothers again?” Now he is on the spot.
We are not told Joseph’s inner reasoning, but we do know he weeps as painful history comes tumbling out. Perhaps the harsh accusation of espionage and the three days’ incarceration are bids for thinking time as he wrestles with a mixture of anger and resentment, longing and curiosity. The brothers are given a taste of prison and Joseph is able to think more calmly about how to proceed. God has brought some healing to Joseph in Egypt, but now it will go deeper and involve the whole family. Sometimes
we think we have moved on from a sadness only to find ourselves overwhelmed again. Perhaps, like a corkscrew going round and down, we are not in the same place, though it might seem so. God’s Spirit is continuing a profound work that will touch not only our own hidden places but the lives of others too.
Apply
When someone has deeply wronged you, are you most likely to seek revenge or reconciliation? What does that tell you about yourself? What does it tell you about your trust in God and his ways?
Closing prayer
Lord, as incidents from my past enter afresh into my awareness, I lift them up to You, especially if I need healing. Release Your restoring and liberating power into my life.
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