Awakening of a Guilty Conscience
Genesis 42
The last three chapters of Genesis that we have studied have taken place in Egypt as Joseph the favorite son of Jacob, due to the treachery of his brothers, was made a slave in the house of Potiphar where he rose to prominence only to be falsely accused and imprisoned (Gen. 39). Again, having risen to prominence in the prison and having helped Pharoah’s officials, Joseph was forgotten (Gen. 40). Then in Genesis 41 we saw the meteoric rise of Joseph from the prison to the palace of Pharoah after he interpreted the king’s dreams. Having spent thirteen years suffering in slavery and prison, He was elevated to the second-highest position in Egypt and put in charge of preparing for and administering the seven years of famine that followed the seven years of abundance.
According to Genesis 45:6, these events took place sometime during the first two years of the famine. Therefore, it has been over twenty years since his murderous brothers had sold him to Ishmaelite traders. Now Joseph is effectively ruling over the major world power of his day. Because of this change of God’s providence in his life, Joseph said, “God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house” (Gen. 41:51). In our passage this morning we will see that he is not able to forget for very long.
Genesis 42 begins the next section of this very important history in which God will bring about the restoration of Jacob’s family and their relocation to Egypt. The attention shifts from Joseph the individual and from the Egyptian empire back to the family of Jacob from which Joseph was torn years before. Moses places the spotlight on Joseph’s brothers who had betrayed him.
Genesis 42 can be divided along geographic lines[1]: in Genesis 42:1-5 we have Jacob and his sons in Canaan; then in Genesis 42:6-28 we have the sons of Jacob in Egypt with Joseph; and then in Genesis 42:29-38 they are back in Canaan again with their father. In this chapter, God is awakening the sleeping consciences of Joseph’s brothers. They are guilty of great sin against God, against their father, and against Joseph. Through His providence, through the actions of Joseph, and through the attitude of Jacob God will stir the consciences of these men.
Twenty years is a long time. A lot is forgotten and never mentioned again. Some things are never mentioned but they are never forgotten either. Perhaps the brothers of Joseph thought that the passage of time would remove their guilt. After all, they hadn’t seen their brother or heard from him since that fateful day when they threw him in the pit, dragged him out again, and sold him to the Midianites headed for Egypt. They assumed he was dead. And why not? Slaves didn’t have a long lifespan. If their conscience pricked them from time to time, if the unending sorrow on Jacob’s face reminded them of their evil deed, they had long since learned to deal with it, to hide it, to cover it, to quickly change the subject.[2]
In this passage, Joseph’s brothers, through God’s providence and the testing of Joseph, are finally forced to confront their sin of selling their brother into slavery. For 20 years, they had lived with their unconfessed and unaddressed sin. Will they face their past? Will they admit their guilt? Will they be brought to repentance? Will there be reconciliation in the family?
Feeling guilty is not a bad thing if you are truly guilty. God can use a guilty conscience along with His word to bring a person to repentance and reconciliation. God begins that work in Joseph’s brothers in this chapter.
First, we will look at The Reminder of Guilt (Gen. 42:1-5). Second, we’ll see The Distress of Guilt (Gen. 42:6-28). And third, The Assumption of Guilt (Gen. 42:29-38).[3]
1. The Reminder of Guilt (Gen. 42:1-5)
1 When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” 2 And he said, “Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may live and not die.” 3 So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “Lest some calamity befall him.” 5 And the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who journeyed, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
The seven years of famine that God revealed through Joseph in Pharoah’s dream not only affected Egypt but all the surrounding countries as well. As the last verse of Genesis 41 told us, “So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands.” (Gen. 41:57). In Canaan, Jacob learns that Egypt has grain. At the mention of Egypt, the place where Joseph had been taken, Judah must have looked at Reuben, and Reuben at Simeon. Levi must have thrown anguished glances at Zebulun. “Why do you look at one another?” Jacob asked. Boice comments, “The fact that Joseph’s brothers looked guiltily at one another instead of taking decisive steps when the family heard that grain was in Egypt, shows that their consciences were not entirely dead, only asleep, and that fitfully.”[4]
God used the hardship of famine to force Joseph’s brothers to bring them to Egypt—the last place on earth they wanted to go. But the famine was in Canaan (Gen. 42:5), as well as in Egypt. Crops had failed. Livestock were dying. People would die eventually. Jacob says, “Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may live and not die” (Gen. 42:2). What should they do? If there was grain in Egypt, they would have to go there or perish—as much as they dreaded the thought of doing so.[5] The famine was God’s first means to awaken conscience in these men and remind them of their guilt.
God sometimes permits seasons of hardship to turn people to Himself. When things are easy, people are tempted to forget God and their sins against Him. In Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son. The father allowed his son to leave his household, spend all his money, and then experience a severe famine (Luke 15:14). It was when he was starving that he “came to his senses” and decided to return to the father’s house.
The second reminder was when Jacob would not send his youngest son Benjamin with them. Benjamin was no longer a child, but a grown man. Yet Jacob is protective of this son of his beloved, deceased wife Rachel and obviously favored him just as he had done with Joseph—another reminder of what they had done to Jacob’s favored son Joseph. Time doesn’t erase a guilty conscience. You can brush your sin under the rug and hope that enough years will take care of it. But one day, perhaps years later, God will apply pressure in your life, or a word that triggers your memory, or circumstances cause your sin to flash in your mind as vividly as if it was yesterday.[6]
And God is not done awakening their guilty consciences. Next, we see,
2. The Distress of Guilt (Gen. 42:6-28)
Genesis 42:6, “Now Joseph was governor over the land; and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the earth.” The ten brothers arrived in Egypt along with many others to buy grain from Joseph. Without realizing they were fulfilling the prophecy of Joseph’s dreams years before (Gen. 37:6-11), his brothers bowed low before him.
Then Moses records in Genesis 42:7-8, “7 Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted as a stranger to them and spoke roughly to them. Then he said to them, “Where do you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.” 8 So Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.”
Joseph was sold into slavery at seventeen years old, and he was now around thirty-nine. He was dressed in Egyptian clothing, speaking through an interpreter, and was clearly royalty—none of the brothers would have suspected that the Egyptian governor was Joseph, their younger brother whom they sold into slavery.
After Joseph recognized his brothers, instead of revealing himself, he chose to speak harshly to them and treat them roughly.
9 Then Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land!” 10 And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all one man’s sons; we are honest men; your servants are not spies.” 12 But he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.” 13 And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more.” 14 But Joseph said to them, “It is as I spoke to you, saying, “You are spies!’ 15 In this manner you shall be tested: By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of you, and let him bring your brother; and you shall be kept in prison, that your words may be tested to see whether there is any truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!” 17 So he put them all together in prison three days.
This was clearly a test. Joseph needed to see if Benjamin and Jacob were alive. He needed to see if the brothers had mistreated either of them and if the brothers had become trustworthy men. Therefore, Joseph spoke harshly to them and accused them of being spies four times. With each reply, they gave more information: First, they answered that they were from Canaan—trying to buy food (Gen. 42:7). Next, they said they were brothers and had the same father (Gen. 42:11). Finally, they said they came from a family with twelve brothers, the youngest was with their father, and the other was no longer alive (Gen. 42:13).
After the brothers revealed that they had a younger brother, Joseph said that they must send one person back to bring Benjamin, so he would believe they weren’t spies. He imprisoned them for three days.
It is clear that Joseph was actually doing to them what they had previously done to him. In Genesis 37:2, Joseph gave a bad report about his brothers to Jacob. So when Jacob sent him to check on his brothers and the flock they may have thought “What is he doing here? Coming to spy on us?” Though Joseph appealed to them many times, they put him in a pit and then sold him to slave traders. Now Joseph accused them of being spies and then imprisoned them threatening to keep them all there until one of them returned with Benjamin.
After three days Joseph relents and changes tactics, Genesis 42:18-20:
18 Then Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God: 19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses. 20 And bring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so.
Joseph’s plan as outlined in 18-20, was not simply a punishment that fit their ancient crime, but that, in detaining one brother and making them return to their father without him, he was making them relive their actions of twenty years before. And again, this distress began to awaken their consciences to their guilt. Genesis 42:21-22, “Then they said to one another, “We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us.” And Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us.”” After they were subjected to similar treatment, they concluded that their circumstances were judgment for how they treated Joseph. This is the first time in over twenty years that we see these brothers confessing their sin against Joseph. God was using Joseph to help the brothers remember their sin and repent.
Moses lets us see that Joseph is not being vindictive or looking for revenge here. He loves his brothers and longs for reconciliation. Listen to Genesis 42:23-25:
23 But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter. 24 And he turned himself away from them and wept. Then he returned to them again, and talked with them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. 25 Then Joseph gave a command to fill their sacks with grain, to restore every man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. Thus he did for them.
I think Joseph had long since forgiven his brothers. But forgiveness can only be transacted when there is repentance.[7] God is using Joseph to help bring these men to repentance so that there can be reconciliation.
It is possible that, after hearing that Reuben, the oldest, had tried to save him as the brothers discussed their circumstances (Gen 42:22), Joseph concluded that Simeon must have encouraged the treacherous act of his enslavement. Joseph knew the character of his brothers: Simeon was the second oldest. Along with Levi, they murdered the men of Shechem (Gen 34). Simeon was an ungodly person. In fact, when Jacob blesses the sons before he dies, Simeon and Levi received non-blessings. He called them weapons of violence and cursed their anger (Gen 49:5-7). Perhaps, that’s why Joseph imprisoned Simeon—maybe he needed it more than others. Certainly, Simeon was reaping what he had sown.[8]
When the brothers were going to leave for Canaan, Joseph first encouraged them with the fact that he “feared God” (v. 18). He wanted them to know that he was an honest man and that if they brought their younger brother back, he would free Simeon. Then, Joseph had his servants give them grain, return their money, and even give them provisions for the journey.
Then Moses tells us:
26 So they loaded their donkeys with the grain and departed from there. 27 But as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the encampment, he saw his money; and there it was, in the mouth of his sack. 28 So he said to his brothers, “My money has been restored, and there it is, in my sack!” Then their hearts failed them and they were afraid, saying to one another, “What is this that God has done to us?”
The reason they were afraid was because they thought the Egyptian governor might accuse them of stealing. However, it doesn’t seem that Joseph was trying to trick them—he was trying to show them that he was a God-fearing, honest, and generous man. Later, when the brothers returned to Egypt, they shared about the mix-up with Joseph’s servant—how they found the money in their sacks even though they paid. Joseph’s servant simply replied, “Peace be with you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money” (Gen 43:23). If the servant truly received the money, it is likely that Joseph paid for them.
The brothers assume all of their affliction is punishment from God (Gen. 42:28). They knew they were guilty before God. In their distress, their guilt would not depart from them.
Similarly, that is how God often works in our lives to draw us to repentance. He not only sharpens our conscience by reminding us of our sin, allowing us to experience lack, and reap what we’ve sown, but he also allows us to experience grace—his unmerited favor. Romans 2:4 says that God’s kindness leads people to repentance.
3. The Assumption of Guilt (Gen. 42:29-38)
Upon their arrival the brothers had quite a story to tell. We read it in Genesis 42:29-38,
29 Then they went to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying:30 “The man who is lord of the land spoke roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. 31 But we said to him, “We are honest men; we are not spies. 32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan.’ 33 Then the man, the lord of the country, said to us, “By this I will know that you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for the famine of your households, and be gone. 34 And bring your youngest brother to me; so I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. I will grant your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.”‘ 35 Then it happened as they emptied their sacks, that surprisingly each man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.36 And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are against me.” 37 Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.” 38 But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.”
All Jacob’s bitterness and sorrow comes welling up to the surface when his brothers return without Simeon and suggest they must take Benjamin with them. Jacob’s speech begins and ends with self-pity (36). This is the picture of a believer who has lost his way. He is deeply pessimistic and overly possessive of Benjamin. He behaves as if God has betrayed him. He has forgotten the promises he received (Gen. 28:15). Jacob assumes his sons are guilty—he blames it on them saying “You have bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin.” He says, “All these things are against me.”
Again God is using the attitude of their father Jacob to prick the consciences of these brothers. Throughout this chapter, we can observe the attitude of Joseph’s brothers changing. Faced with a personal crisis they acknowledged their guilt. They regarded their suffering as righteous divine punishment, and they began to place Jacob’s interests above their own. However, their repentance was not yet complete. The process of contrition had to run further before reconciliation was possible.
What if you, like Joseph’s brothers, are burdened with a guilty conscience?
If God’s hand seems harsh and heavy against you right now, you need to know that His purpose is to rescue you from sin and the character traits which ultimately would destroy you and damage many others. When you yield to Him and draw near in repentance, you will discover His great compassion and grace.
“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18).
Hear the Good News of the Gospel! Christ came to save sinners. Come to Christ. Run to the cross. Lay hold of the Son of God who died for you.
The door is open in the Father’s house and the lights are on. You will not be turned away. As the old song says,
Let not conscience bid you linger,
Nor of fitness fondly dream,
All the fitness he requireth
Is to feel your need of him.
[1] Mark vander Hart, Genesis 42:1-28 – Joseph Puts His Brothers on Trial, https://www.christianstudylibrary.org/article/genesis-421-28-joseph-puts-his-brothers-trial
[2] Ray Pritchard, Are You Willing to Face Your Past?, https://www.keepbelieving.com/sermon/are-you-willing-to-face-your-past/
[3] Brad Mills, The Burden of Guilt, https://gracefresno.com/sermons/the-burden-of-guilt-genesis-42/ (I borrowed the outline from Mills).
[4] James Montgomery Boice, Genesis: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998), 987.
[5] Boice. ibid.
[6] Steven Cole, When Your Conscience Says “Ow!” (Genesis 42:1-28), https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-70-when-your-conscience-says-ow-genesis-421-28
[7] Joe Anady, Genesis 42: Forgiveness And Reconciliation Predicated On True Repentance, https://emmausrbc.org/2020/02/02/sermon-genesis-42-forgiveness-and-reconciliation-predicated-on-true-repentance/
[8] Gregory Brown, How God Leads People to Repentance (Genesis 42) https://bible.org/seriespage/5-how-god-leads-people-repentance-genesis-42
