GENESIS: God's Word Always Comes to Fruition; "So Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. Then Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them."

When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” And he said, “Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may live and not die.” (Genesis 42:1-2)

The last we heard from Jacob, the ten brothers had lied to him that Joseph was killed by evil beasts. Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. (Genesis 37:34-35) He had not gone down in the grave yet, but the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. The famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. (Genesis 41:54)

So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “Lest some calamity befall him.” And the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who journeyed, for the famine was in the land of Canaan. (Genesis 42:3-5)

Now Joseph was governor over the land; and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the earth. Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted as a stranger to them and spoke roughly to them. (Genesis 42:6-7)

Remember, the last time he saw his brothers, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it. ... Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt. (Genesis 37:23-28) The last memory he had of them was of them hating, envying and being jealous of him.  He did not trust them, which was why he acted as a stranger to them and spoke roughly to them.

Then he said to them, “Where do you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.” So Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. Then Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them [Genesis 37:1-11], and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land!” And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. We are all one man’s sons; we are honest men; your servants are not spies.” But he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.” And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more.” (Genesis 42:7-13)

But Joseph said to them, “It is as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You are spies!’ In this manner you shall be tested: By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of you, and let him bring your brother; and you shall be kept in prison, that your words may be tested to see whether there is any truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!” So he put them all together in prison three days. (Genesis 42:14-17)

Why did Joseph demand that they bring the youngest brother, Benjamin to Egypt? Probably two reasons: 1. because he was Joseph's whole brother, having the same mother; the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. (Genesis 35:24) 2. because he wanted to make sure the brothers hadn't killed Benjamin or caused him some kind of harm, like they thought they had done to him. Either way, his dream had to come fruition, "There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.” (Genesis 37:7) The brothers were bowing before him, begging for grain, and if they wanted to get what they needed, they were going to have to do what he said.

Then Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God: If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses. And bring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so. Then they said to one another, “We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us.” (Genesis 42:18-21)

And Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’ [Genesis 37:21-30]; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us.” But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter. And he turned himself away from them and wept. Then he returned to them again, and talked with them. And he took Simeon [meaning, God's salvation] from them and bound him before their eyes. (Genesis 42:22-24) The first step in receiving forgiveness is showing remorse.  They, or at least Reuben was genuinely remorseful for what the brothers had done to Joseph, and they attributed all of their suffering and distress to what they had done. 

Then Joseph gave a command to fill their sacks with grain, to restore every man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. Thus he did for them. So they loaded their donkeys with the grain and departed from there. But as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the encampment, he saw his money; and there it was, in the mouth of his sack. So he said to his brothers, “My money has been restored, and there it is, in my sack!” Then their hearts failed them and they were afraid, saying to one another, “What is this that God has done to us?” (Genesis 42:25-28) They feared they would be charged with stealing the grain because their money was in their sack.  They did not know that Joseph had commanded their money to be returned to them.

Then they went to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying: “The man who is lord of the land spoke roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan.’ Then the man, the lord of the country, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for the famine of your households, and be gone. And bring your youngest brother to me; so I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. I will grant your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’” (Genesis 42:29-34)

Then it happened as they emptied their sacks, that surprisingly each man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are against me.” Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.” But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.” (Genesis 42:35-38)

One interesting note, that Joseph kept Simeon, whose name means God's salvation. Then, Joseph sent the brothers back to Canaan with the grain they needed and returned their money to each of them. This represents God's free gift of salvation to each of us. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9) None of us can buy what we need from God, nor can we earn it.  We just have to accept God's salvation, through faith in Christ Jesus. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) ...through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. (Romans 5:18)