Genesis 42:24

He had once come to them, and they had said, "Here comes this dreamer." Now they come to him, and he says, "You are spies, you are spies." He makes himself a stranger to them. He speaks harshly, and by this he calls their sin to mind. "We are truly guilty," they say, "concerning our brother." But he hides himself while all this is going on. He speaks to them through an interpreter. It was indeed his work, but it was his strange work; he was doing his act, but it was his strange act. He arranges circumstances so that sorrow may work repentance, but he does not yet show himself. For all this may be the way of his hand, but it was not the way of his heart... They had once bound and sold their poor brother to strangers, and now a stranger takes and binds one of them.

Reuben, who had shown some regret at the time, now reminds them of their wicked deed and of his protest. Altogether Joseph was so overcome that he could only turn away and weep. Those tears were not of selfish feeling. They came from gratitude to Him who had watched over all his sufferings and dangers. Now too he could see God working, not only to humble and bless his brothers, but to cheer his father's heart... Their distress must deepen yet, for God does not spare the flesh; but the profit would be all the greater at last.

His tears were not of the merely sentimental kind, as verse 24 shows. He did not let his deep feelings stop his further action, which was still severe. He had Simeon bound as a prisoner before their eyes. The work of conscience, which leads to repentance, had only just begun. That work needed to go much deeper. This is how God deals with us. He lets His hand of discipline stay heavy on us until the work is finished. Then afterward the blessing comes.

Joseph soon rose above his emotion and returned to them. Before their eyes he bound Simeon, not Reuben, and with good reason.

Joseph will keep his hand on them. Simeon is bound before their eyes. But it is love that binds the cords round Simeon, for even as he does so he turns aside to weep. The cords that bound him were cords of love. What is more, he commanded that their sacks be filled with grain. He is not forgetful of their needs and so gives them some relief. Even so, he keeps Simeon a prisoner.

Joseph understood all their words, so that he wept. And He who was rejected by His own has a loving sympathy for this nation.

However hard God's ways may seem to the trembling, guilty soul, He is love. The substitute is bound before their eyes, and they receive their sacks full of grain. It all seems over; they have got their grain, and they leave that mysterious governor. A moment's relief. This often happens to the soul. You have certainly got a blessing; perhaps your heart feels as full of it as their sacks were full of grain. But you have not fully repented yet; the question of sin is not settled yet.