They said to him, “No, my lord, your servants have come to buy food.
Joseph's brothers stand before the governor of Egypt, accused of spying. They deny it politely, call themselves his servants, and say they have only come to buy food. They do not know they are speaking to the brother they rejected. Their defence of themselves will not survive what follows.
Why Joseph Called Them Spies
Joseph's accusation was not true, and he knew it. Commentators see it as deliberate pressure on the conscience, not a mistake to clear up.
L. M. GrantWhen they asked to buy food, he accused them of being spies. Though this was not accurate, Joseph was seeking to stir their hearts about their past dishonesty. They protest that they are true men, the sons of one man (v. 11). Later they would have to confess that they have not been true.
The harsh manner covered a settled purpose of good toward them.
William KellyJoseph had no thought of vengeance; nor would he invoke or trust the process of law. With grace in his heart, he does not spare useful lessons for the conscience of the guilty. So he speaks as the governor of Egypt that he really was, and acts like a stranger to them for one reason only — their real good.
The Right Person, the Wrong Plan
Their answer is honest about their plan: they have come to buy. That word is the problem. They have found the one man who can feed them, but they approach him as customers.
Hamilton SmithThe brothers protest that it is their need that brings them into Egypt. "We have come to buy food" (v. 10). They have indeed come to the right person, but they have come with a wrong plan and with a wrong plea. Their plan is to buy, and their plea, "We are true men" (v. 11). As yet they know neither the love of Joseph's heart, nor the evil of their own hearts. They must learn that Joseph is too rich to sell to his own, and that they have nothing in themselves to plead. Their money will not buy corn, and they have no merit that would let them claim it.
The same writer sums it up: "Love is a giver when worthlessness has nothing to plead."
"True Men" — a Claim the Facts Deny
Their next words defend their character. Standing in front of the brother they rejected, they call themselves honest men.
C Stanley"Joseph spoke roughly to them." The question of sin must be settled right down to the bottom. The cutting cord of a guilty conscience must be pulled a little tight. "You are spies." And now notice their defence — "We are all one man's sons; we are true men." They stood in front of the man they had rejected and, in effect, killed. And they could still talk about being true men. What a picture of this world! Men can reject Christ, and then pretend to keep the law.
The claim is made to the one person who knows everything about them.
W. T. P. WolstonJoseph knew the secrets of their hearts. He knew them, but they did not know him. "True men," indeed! That is their verdict about themselves. What do you think of their hatred and hypocrisy? True men they were not, and they had to learn it. You too will have to face up to your sin before God, my friend.
"My Lord… Your Servants"
Without realising it, they call him lord and themselves his servants. Joseph's dreams are starting to come true.
F. B. HoleJacob sent all his brothers except Benjamin to buy corn in Egypt, and as a result we begin to see the fulfilment of Joseph's dreams. Joseph was the governor, and the brothers bowed down before him with their faces to the earth. They did not know him, though he recognised them.
Where the Self-Defence Ends
The plea of verse 10 is not the last word. Joseph keeps testing until they drop the defence. The same words — "your servants" — come back in a different spirit.
Hamilton SmithNo longer do they justify themselves. They exclaim, "What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord's servants!" They no longer try to justify themselves about the present. They do not try to clear themselves about the past. They are convicted sinners "found out" by God.
Summary
- Need — Hunger brought them to the right man; need alone does not make the approach right.
- Plan — They came to buy, and he is too rich to sell to his own; their money will not buy the corn.
- Plea — "We are true men" is the plea of merit, spoken by men whose guilt the governor knows better than they do.
- Probe — The false charge of spying and the rough voice are grace at work, aimed at a conscience asleep over an old wrong.
- Place — They end with the same words, but a changed heart: "we are my lord's servants." The self-defence is gone, and God has found them out.