How wonderfully and Providentially do all the different portions of this sacred drama proceed! We have seen that Joseph was elevated to the highest rank in the kingdom of Egypt, immediately under Pharaoh himself. All people bowed the knee before him. And yet how little probability there was that visitors from other lands – and least of all, shepherds from the land of Canaan – would ever wander so far from home as to be among the number of those who thus performed obeisance to Joseph! But such a scenario had to be brought about before the visions of Joseph’s childhood dreams could be fulfilled. Therefore, the Lord ordained that the famine in Egypt would extend itself even to the fruitful land of Canaan; and the elderly patriarch Jacob – little foreseeing how vast a series of the most important events would flow from this simple act – sends his sons down into Egypt, so that they may buy corn for themselves and their families.

What had once seemed to be absolutely improbable now occurs without the least compulsion or restraint being exercised upon any of the parties involved. The brothers of Joseph arrive in Egypt, and they willingly “bow down themselves with their faces to the earth” as soon as they come into the presence of “the lord of the land.” Thus they unconsciously fulfilled the dream which they had once scoffed at, and “their sheaves made obeisance to the sheaf” of their despised brother. This is continually the method in which the Almighty works out His wondrous plans. For a very long time, they may appear to be impossible and improbable; yet they are certain and simple in their fulfillment.

Joseph was hard upon his brothers – not from a spirit of revenge, but in order to bring them to repentance. Not seeing his brother Benjamin, he suspected that they had done something to him; and he gave them occasion to speak of their father and brother. God, in His Providence, sometimes seems to be similarly harsh with those whom He loves; there are times when He speaks roughly to those upon whom He is about to show real mercy.

At last, Joseph decided that one of the brothers would be left in prison, and the rest were to go home and fetch Benjamin. It ought to have been very encouraging to them when Joseph said, “I fear God”; for it was as if he had said, “You may rest assured that I will do you no wrong; indeed, I dare not, for I know that there is One Who is higher than I.” We may expect fair dealings from those who fear the Lord. But see how the brothers’ consciences reproached them now. They had felt guilt when they had treated Joseph so badly on the day that they sold him to the traveling merchants; yet at that time, they made light of it and sat down to eat bread. But now, over 20 years later, their consciences accused them for it. Here we see that afflictions often prove to be the happy means of awakening our consciences and bringing sins to our remembrance, so that we may repent of them and find mercy and forgiveness from the Lord.

The brothers had come to Egypt for grain, and Joseph gave them some to take back home with them. But in addition, he also ordered that their money should be returned and put inside their grain-sacks. See how Christ is like Joseph! He gives out supplies freely, without money and without price. Even the poorest are invited to partake. But sadly, guilty consciences are so easily inclined to take good Providences in a bad sense, and to put wrong meanings even upon things that will work in their favor – just as the brothers did when they discovered that their money had been given back to them. They suspected that some trick was involved so that there would be a reason for them to be accused of a crime later.

When the brothers returned home, they made a report to their father Jacob of everything that had happened to them, and it troubled him. Even the bundles of money which Joseph had returned, as an act of kindness, frightened him. He laid the fault upon his sons. Knowing them and their character, he feared that they had provoked the Egyptians and wrongfully brought home their money. He gives up Joseph as being gone forever, and he regards Simeon and Benjamin as being in great danger; and he concludes, “All these things are against me.” But it proved far otherwise, for all these things were actually being worked out by the Lord for the good of himself and his family. How little do we ever imagine that the things which are against us are, in reality, working for our ultimate benefit! The Lord Jesus sometimes conceals Himself and His favor; by sharp corrections and humbling convictions, He breaks the pride of the heart and brings it to true repentance. Yet before sinners fully know Him, and before they are even aware of how gracious He truly is, He is working for their good. And He sustains their souls to wait patiently for Him.

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