So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died:
The brothers have buried Jacob. Now the ten men who once sold Joseph into slavery stand alone with the man they wronged. They do not go to him. They send words ahead instead — words that put their father's dying wish between themselves and Joseph.
Conscience Wakes at a Graveside
For years the brothers had lived under Joseph's care. Nobody raised the old wrong. The funeral changed that.
W. T. P. WolstonLet us go into the room where the dead man lies. It will do you no harm. It was not for one day, but for forty days. Every one of those ten men then said to himself, It has come, the old man is gone, and what will happen now? Again conscience woke up. As they look at the body of their father, their conscience works.
A Message Instead of a Meeting
The verse turns on one choice: they sent word instead of going themselves. One writer sees in that choice both what kept them unhappy and the only way out.
W. T. P. WolstonThey send a messenger. They would have been far happier if they had each gone themselves… I have a very grave doubt whether the old man did say this. But they knew the time had now come when they had to get fully right with Joseph, and they could only do that by honestly admitting the past. So with you, my friend, and God. If you do not confess outright you will never get peace.
Sheltering Behind a Dead Father
One writer weighs what the message got right and what it gave away.
F. B. HoleTheir message was very diplomatic. They invoked the memory of their dead father to shelter themselves. They admitted the wrong they had done many years before, which was good. They also called themselves servants of the God of Jacob. But they still showed all too clearly what they thought: that all his past goodness did not express his real self.
Another writer goes further. He says the command was never given, and he turns the episode into a warning for anyone whose conscience starts to accuse them.
Hamilton SmithThey try to hide their own unbelief and mistrust of Joseph. They pretend they are only carrying out the dying commands of Joseph's father. It is impossible to believe that Jacob left any such command. They have completely forgotten that Joseph forgave their whole sad past, and now they beg to be forgiven… And it is the same with us. Suppose we are not living close to Christ, and have never come to know His heart. Then sin, failure, and a careless walk may leave us thinking, once conscience begins to work, that Christ is against us for something we have done.
Joseph's Kindness Never Rested on Jacob
The brothers' whole plan assumes that Jacob was the reason Joseph had been good to them. That assumption was false.
L. M. GrantJoseph's kindness, after the way they had treated him, did not come from his father standing between them. What moved him was his own relationship to God. He had shown them the kindness of God. In the same way, but higher, the Lord Jesus has shown the love and grace of God to sinners who had rebelled against Him. More than that, Joseph's words to them had only been good. Could they not simply trust his word?
Suspicion That Wounds
The brothers expected anger. What they got was tears.
C. H. MackintoshJoseph had forgiven them freely and fully. He had spared their lives when they were completely in his power. How could they suppose that, after so many years of kindness, he would turn on them in anger and revenge? It was indeed a grievous wrong. No wonder that "Joseph wept when they spoke to him." What an answer to all their unworthy fear and dark suspicion! A flood of tears! Such is love!
The same writer applies this to us, because we repeat the fault.
C. H. MackintoshWe are troubled and upset when we ought to be calm and trusting… Surely few things should humble us more deeply than our tendency to distrust the Lord when difficulties and trials come. And we do grieve the heart of Jesus when we distrust Him, for distrust must always wound a loving heart.
Summary
- Conscience. Forty days beside their father's body woke the guilt the brothers had buried for years.
- Fear. They sent a messenger instead of facing Joseph, and hid behind a dying command. Going themselves would have made them happier.
- Cover. Naming their dead father showed what they believed: Joseph had been kind only for Jacob's sake.
- Truth. Joseph's goodness came from his relationship to God, and his word to them had only ever been good.
- Trust. Joseph answered their suspicion with tears. The same distrust still grieves the heart of Christ.