#113 Spies Like Us Genesis 42

On the third day Joseph said to them, "do this and you will live, for I fear God: if you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody, and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households, and bring your youngest brother to me. So your words will be verified, and you shall not die." And they did so. Then they said to one another, "in truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us." And Reuben answered them, "did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood." They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them. Then he turned turned away from them and wept. And he returned to them and spoke to them. And he took Simeon form them and bound him before their eyes. And Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, and to replace every man's money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. This was done for them. Then they loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed. And as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his money in the mouth of his sack. He said to his brothers, "my money has been put back; here it is in the mouth of my sack!" At this their hearts failed them, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, "what is this that God has done to us?"When they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them, saying, "the man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us and took us to be spies of the land. But we said to him, 'we are honest men; we have never been spies. We are twelve brothers, sons of our father. One is no more, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.' Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, 'by this I shall know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for the famine of your households, and go your way. Bring your youngest brother to me. Then  I shall know that you are not spies but honest men, and I will deliver your brother to you, and you shall trade in the land.' " As they emptied their sacks, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack. And when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid. And Jacob their father said to them, "you have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has come against me."  Then Reuben said to his father, "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." But he said, "my son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If harm should happen to him on the journey that you are to make, you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol." Genesis 42: 18-38 ESV

"For I fear God." It is difficult to say for sure why Joseph says this. It may have been to relate to his brothers, who see him as the lord of a pagan land. The Hebrews were not well thought of by the Egyptians, as we find in 43:32, where it was considered an abomination for an Egyptian to eat with a Hebrew. To say, "I fear God," may have also triggered the recount of young Joseph. They confess it as sin, and relate their present circumstances to God's justice. It is an emotional pull on Joseph, who has the power to pay them back a 100 fold for their trespass, but he continues by binding just one of them. Simeon is chosen for this, and he is probably the hardest to break. Was it not Simeon and Levi who deceived and then decimated a whole city to get revenge? When someone tells me that they fear God, I take it with a grain of salt. Joseph does everything in view of God, and his statement is pure. It is supported by the deeds of his whole life and the credit he gives to the Lord. When his brothers say they are honest men, it is in the hope that the person they are talking to does not know them. They are starting to fear God, but they have a long way to go. It is interesting to note that when they return home and relay the story to Jacob, he says, "you have bereaved me of my children." Maybe it was easier to believe his son was killed by an animal, than to admit to what his heart was thinking. He refuses to put Benjamin in the care of his brothers, even with the lives of Reuben's own sons as surety. It is a bold and vane promise on Reuben's part; for who is to say what will happen? And would you trust these Guys?

33"Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT SHALL FULFILL YOUR VOWS TO THE LORD.' 34"But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING. Matthew 5: 33-35