But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we have never been spies.
The brothers are home, repeating to Jacob the defence they had given the governor of Egypt. Two questions hang over it: were the words ever true, and what did that governor intend to do about them?
The plea they keep repeating
The claim sounds reasonable. But the men making it had rejected their own brother. They were standing in front of him as they spoke, and did not know it.
C Stanley"Joseph spoke roughly to them." The question of sin must be probed to the bottom. The cord that cuts a guilty conscience must be pulled a little tight. "You are spies." And now notice their defence — "We are all sons of one man. We are honest men." They stood in front of the one they had rejected and, in effect, killed. Yet they could talk of being honest men. What a picture of this world! Men can reject Christ, and then can pretend to keep the law.
A wrong plan and a wrong plea
They had come to the right man. Everything they needed was in his hands. But their plan was wrong, and so was their plea.
Hamilton SmithTheir plan is to buy, and their plea, "We are honest 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 grain, and they have no merit by which to claim it. They must learn that Joseph is ready to give every blessing. Yet they have forfeited every claim on him. Love is a giver when worthlessness has nothing to plead.
Their own words convict them
Read the report to Jacob as a whole and it collapses on itself. In this verse they claim honesty. A few words later they admit that one brother is gone — and they knew why.
Hamilton SmithThe brothers have condemned themselves out of their own lips. They have protested that they are honest men, and in the same breath they say, "one is not." They know full well that if Joseph is gone from their lives, it is entirely because of their own wickedness. They stand in front of the one they had rejected, and their hearts are still unrepentant. Yet they protest that they are honest men.
The rough voice and the hidden heart
The brothers report that the governor spoke roughly and treated them as spies. What was in his heart was completely different.
William KellyThere was no thought of vengeance in Joseph; nor would he call on the law or trust its processes. With grace in his heart, he does not spare profitable lessons for the conscience of the guilty. So he speaks like a governor of Egypt — which is what he truly was. He makes himself a stranger to them for one reason only: their real good.
One writer speaks straight to the reader who thinks God is rough.
W. T. P. WolstonMy friend, if you could interpret God's ways you would find them to be all love. You think He is rough. No, no, He loves you with all His heart, and He has given His Son for sinners like you and me.
Joseph tests the claim
Joseph does not argue with their claim. He answers it with a test. Older translations put their words as "we are true men."
Hamilton SmithThey have said, "We are honest men." So Joseph will place them in a situation that will show whether at last they can act as true brothers and true sons. With the greatest wisdom Joseph will re-enact the past. Once again ten men will have to act in regard to a younger brother. Once again they will have to face an aged father with his great love for the younger son.
Another writer names the confession Joseph is working toward.
L. M. GrantThe charge of spying was not true. But Joseph was trying to stir their hearts about their past dishonesty. They protest that they are honest men, the sons of one man (v. 11). They must later be brought to confess that they have not been honest.
Summary
- Claim. They called themselves honest men while standing in front of the brother they had rejected. You cannot reject a person and then plead good character.
- Contradiction. The same report that claims honesty admits "one is not"; their own words condemn them.
- Currency. They came to buy, and they pleaded merit. They had to learn that Joseph gives, and that they had forfeited every claim on him.
- Correction. The rough voice was not vengeance. He made himself a stranger to them for no purpose but their real good.
- Confession. Joseph re-stages their old sin to test the claim. In the end they must say what he already knew: they had not been honest.