Joseph and the Test for His Brothers

When Joseph in Egypt discovered that his brothers had come from the land of Canaan to obtain food from the Egyptians, he did not immediately reveal to them who he was.  Rather, he did a series of unexpected things to them.  First, he accused them of being spies, pretending to not believe their story.  When they mentioned that they had another brother (Benjamin) back with their father, Joseph said to them, “Hereby ye shall be proved; By the life of Pharoah ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither” (Genesis 42:15).  Joseph ended up keeping Simeon whom he bound, and then he sent them off to return with Benjamin.  Eventually the brothers convinced their father to let them return with Benjamin when they were out of food.  Joseph treated them very well when they came, and he sent them back with plenty of food but slipped his silver cup into the sack of Benjamin before they left.  Joseph then sent his servant out to capture them and accuse Benjamin of stealing the cup.  The group returned distraught beyond all measure thinking that Benjamin would be punished.  When Joseph said that Benjamin would stay and be his servant, Judah pleaded with Joseph, “Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren.  For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me?” (Genesis 44:33-34)  That was finally the last straw for Joseph, and he sent his servants out and made himself known to his brothers.  So why did Joseph do all of this before telling them who he was?

               Perhaps part of the reason for these somewhat strange interactions with his brothers was simply that he wasn’t ready at first to speak to them with his true identity.  But it also seems to me that Joseph was testing his brothers to find out if they had changed their hearts.  Joseph didn’t need to know that they had changed in order to forgive them—I think that he had done that long before.  But my guess is that he wanted to know if they still had the same evil in their hearts.  He cared about their physical and spiritual well-being and surely was hoping to find that they were not the same as they once were.  The only way that he could know that was with a real test that might elicit a show of courage and love.  So he made them bring Benjamin and then put his youngest brother’s life in jeopardy (at least from the viewpoint of the older brothers) to see how they would react.  What would they do to try to protect their youngest brother?  Twenty years earlier they had been willing to kill their younger brother; how would they treat Benjamin now?  When Judah not only offered but pleaded to take the place of Benjamin, Joseph then could be sure that their hearts had indeed changed.  They no longer were the selfish, cruel brothers they had once been but were more concerned for their father and younger brother than themselves.  It was also fitting that Judah be the one to offer himself, for it was Judah originally who had decided to sell Joseph, saying, “What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?  Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites” (Genesis 37:26-27).  And now it was Judah who was not only standing up for Benjamin but he was in effect offering his life in exchange for Benjamin’s.  This may be part of the reason that Joseph decided to reveal himself at this moment—he was filled with joy that his brothers were not only there after so long but that they had developed a humility and love they had not had before.  Knowing that Judah was ready to sacrifice his own life for Benjamin must have overflowed Joseph’s heart with joy, pushing him to tell them who he was.  This story is not only a great tale of forgiveness but also of the power that we have—even the most wicked—to repent and become new people in Christ.