Genesis 42:29: Nine brothers, one missing, and a story their father does not take well
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The brothers reach Canaan and tell their father all that happened in Egypt — their dealings with the governor there, and Simeon left behind. Their report is accurate. Yet neither they nor Jacob can see what God is doing with them.
The report and what followed it
Their report ends at the open sacks, and what they find there frightens them:
Returning home, they recount to their father Jacob their experience with the governor of Egypt (vv. 29-34). Then, opening their sacks, they find the money of all restored to them. Both they and their father were afraid rather than thankful, for they suspected some hidden motive in this. It is the same with people generally. They are suspicious that there must be some "catch" when the free grace of God in Christ Jesus is proclaimed (v. 35).
Conscience already at work
Something had already started in these men before they reached Canaan. Joseph could read their trouble far better than they could:
The way of restoration is not easy when souls have gone astray like the sons of Jacob. But conscience had begun its deep and healthy work, however much more might be needed. Joseph knew far better than they did that God was really at work. God was using their self-judgment for their blessing, through the very trouble that pressed on them. That trouble left Simeon held in Egypt, and one of them found it confirmed by the money in the mouth of his sack. Their heart failed through fear, and they asked, "What is this that God has done to us?"
So far all of this had stayed among themselves:
All this awakening of conscience, while so far good, is only among themselves. It must all come out before Joseph if they are ever to be happy in his presence. So Joseph will keep his hand on them.
Kindness that only frightened them
The returned money was a gift. Guilt turned it into evidence against them:
Had they eyes to see, they would have learned from this that Joseph was a giver. But in their condition, gifts only stirred up deeper fear. Their hearts failed them at the discovery of their money. "What is this that God has done to us?" They have recalled their sin, and now they see that God is dealing with them. The fear of God is rising in their souls. Not the holy fear that marked Joseph. "They feared because they had done wrong; he feared doing wrong." So again, when they returned to Jacob, each man found his money in his sack, and "they were afraid." The goodness of Joseph should have made them glad. Instead they are miserable and afraid, because their guilty consciences tell them they do not deserve such goodness.
Jacob's reply
The old man answers the report with a complaint about his losses. His words land on his sons in a way he never intended:
Poor Jacob's reaction to it all, recorded in verse 36, is very characteristic of him. When he said, "You have bereaved me … Joseph is no more …" he spoke more truly than he knew. His bereavement, as regards Joseph, did indeed lie at their door, so this must have been a further stab to their consciences.
Jacob himself is measuring God by what he can see. (The ESV renders his cry in verse 36 as "All this has come against me.")
Jacob is not guilty, like his sons, but his feeble faith can see no trace of the hand of God in all these circumstances. As he hears the story of his sons' experiences, all he can say is, "All these things are against me." The language of faith speaks very differently. It says, "For those who love God all things work together for good." The very things that to sight and nature were against him were the very means God was using for his blessing.
The road to blessing
Jacob's heaviest losses were not wasted:
Yet these blows, which fell so heavily on his affections, were the needed path to blessing and joy for all. And such is the end of the Lord for all who fear Him, however trying the way.
Summary
- Told. They told their father everything that had happened, yet the confession that mattered had not yet come out before Joseph.
- Probed. Conscience had begun its deep work. God was using their self-judgment for their blessing, through the very trouble that pressed on them.
- Given. The money in the sacks was pure gift, but guilt read it as a trap — they feared because they had done wrong.
- Complained. Jacob's "All these things are against me" was feeble faith reading God by sight. His words about his lost son stabbed his sons' consciences, and he never knew it.
- Blessed. The blows that hurt Jacob most were the path to joy for the whole family. That is the end of the Lord for all who fear Him.
