Genesis 42:18 Commentary and Bible Study

‘This do and live; for I fear God.’ This was strange language indeed to hear in Egypt, but it brings to their minds that fact that God is superintending all the affairs of their lives. ‘If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound.’ Now Joseph mitigates the severity of his response to them. It is likely he had always intended to do this, but he tells them that because he fears God he will not treat them over-severely. They have families waiting for their return to Canaan, and if they are all kept imprisoned in Egypt, there will be no corn carried back and their families will starve, and Joseph will be responsible for that. He tells them to return home, and ‘they did so’ – they carried the corn back to their houses.This verse is special – it is the only explicit confirmation of sin on the part of the brothers. They admit their guilt in their dealings with Joseph. In their terror they ask why has God allowed this to happen? The brothers repent here, but there will be two further waves of confirmation and conviction to come. We see how much they understood at the time they exercised their cruelty on Joseph. Their conscience was speaking to them even then, but they suppressed it vigorously, and pressed on with the cruelty they had planned. Now, years later, the event is fresh in their minds. Though they were hard men, they could see how Joseph. who was little more than a child at the time, pleading pathetically with them. They understood something of what he was suffering – they use the word anguish – but they refused to show pity. It has been with them all this time, unrepented of, not faced up to. Now in great distress, they look to their conscience to explain why these things are happening to them. They believe in the justice of God and they have no defence against it: they are being punished for their wicked cruelty.Reuben is not making excuses for himself, he is making the charge worse – ‘I warned you. It was broad daylight murder.’ They did not know Joseph understood all they said. Christ in his interactions with our souls sees the burden which sin causes us to labour under. We try to hide the distress that sin causes us until the time we are ready to repent in earnest. He does not remove that burden until we come to him to have it removed at Calvary’s cross. Then he has true dealings with our consciences – our guilt is removed because the justice of God agrees that sin has truly been atoned for.Joseph takes Simeon and binds him to break them down. You might say he has done enough already, but no, there is more that must happen. They are in a difficult situation. If they failed to bring Benjamin back, then on their return Simeon would be executed, but if they do not come back they will perish with hunger.