A TASTE OF THEIR OWN MEDICINE

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

"Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the one who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph's brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. 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." Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, "You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected." "No, my lord," they answered. "Your servants have come to buy food. We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies." "No!" he said to them. "You have come to see where our land is unprotected." 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." Joseph said to them, "It is just as I told you: You are spies! 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. 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!" And he put them all in custody for three days. On the third day, Joseph said to them, "Do this and you will live, for I fear God: 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. 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. 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 upon us." 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." They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter. He turned away from them and began to weep…" Genesis 42:6-24

As Joseph’s brothers get to Egypt, they are brought before the governor "who sold grain to all its people." As they "bowed down to him with their faces to the ground", Joseph recognized them but they did not recognize them. Scripture tells us Joseph "pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them." He also "remembered his dreams about them."

You’ll recall Joseph’s dream from Genesis, Chapter 37. He told his brothers, "Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it." His brothers said to him, "Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?" And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said." (verses 6-8)

Back to Chapter 42. We find Joseph’s brothers truly bowing before him in respect for his ruling authority over them, just as the dream had predicted. Dreams do come true.

So how would Joseph respond to these brothers who had mistreated him so badly. Well, scripture shares that he spoke to them harshly and accused them of being spies. There is little doubt that Joseph was trying to see two things in the way he treated his brothers. First, he was testing their attitude. How would they respond when accused and judged? Well, it’s obvious the brothers are frightened about the charge for spying was a crime punishable by death. They vehemently denied the accusation, repeating that they had just come to get grain. Joseph persisted in accusing them. You sense the brothers getting ever more fearful of what might happen to them. They were being severely humbled and hadn’t dreamed that they would be ever be in this position. The truth is…they hadn’t dreamed it…but Joseph had and the dream was becoming reality.

Joseph was also interested in what the brothers had to say about him but he had to go about it in a rather sly fashion so he wouldn’t reveal his identity. In denying the spy charge, the brothers defend themselves by telling Joseph they are from Canaan and were 10 or 12 brothers. They add that "the youngest is now with our father, and one is no more"…the youngest to them now being Benjamin because they thought Joseph was "no more." Their words tell Joseph that they believe he is dead. They have already written him off.

So Joseph presses them harder and this time commands them to prove their truthfulness. He does so by testing them saying, "As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 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!" And he put them all in custody for three days.

So the ten brothers were put in prison for three days after the governor (aka Joseph) failed to believe that they weren’t spies. They were actually getting a taste of their own medicine all alone.
For just as they failed to believe Joseph as he told them the dream that foretold future events, so too do they find out how it feels to not be believed as they deny the spy charges. And just as Joseph found himself imprisoned after being sold into slavery by his brothers, now his brothers get to spend three days in prison to get just a glimpse of what Joseph had to endure for over two years.

It’s interesting to note the soul searching that must have happened as the brothers spent those three days in prison. For after they came again before Joseph, they started to confess their wrongs and connect their current precarious state to their mistreatment of Joseph. After Joseph tells the brothers that one of them had to stay behind in custody while the others returned to Canaan to bring the youngest brother to Joseph, they began to lament. Scripture says they told 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 upon us." Reuben, the eldest brother, added, "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." Joseph had to be touched by their words. They were truly remorseful for what they had done and their words drove Joseph to tears as he "began to weep." After having struggled with the way he was unloved and mistreated by his siblings, their words must have been what he had prayed he would hear some day.

So as the tears rolled from Joseph’s eyes, the river of reconciliation started to roll. Yes, Joseph would continue to play a role in the brothers learning a life lesson, but we will see how he is merciful to his brothers as they return to Canaan with their grain and seek to return to Egypt with Benjamin to earn Reuben’s release.

Question: Have you ever done something wrong to someone and then had that same wrong come back on you from someone else? The Lord definitely has a way of giving us a taste of our own medicine and, most of the time, we don’t like the way it tastes. But His medicine comes to teach us, correct us and refine us as His children. Just as Joseph’s brothers learn an important lesson in the proper way to love and treat others, so too will we be taught important life lessons by the Father. May we always embrace those lessons, repent of our sins and work diligently to never repeat the wrong again. For this is His will for us. We need to carry it out…or else He will have to give us stronger doses of our own medicine until we learn. We should never test Him!

In Christ,

Mark

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