Thank you to all y’all who shared your “What Would You Do?” thoughts. I found them fascinating and hilarious, with just the right amount of thoughtful irreverence.
I wrote that first paragraph before yesterday’s post went live. Here’s to hoping!
And now for my own thoughts on Genesis 42.
Things Were Going Great . . .
. . . until THEY showed up. You know, the brothers. The ones who, 20 years ago, thought it would be a great joke to sell Joseph into slavery.
I can’t imagine what it must have been like seeing them. But I do know that we see a side of Joseph we haven’t seen before. He speaks harshly to them. He threatens them. He locks them away in a prison. He gives them a quest that will get one of them killed if they fail.
This is not the Joseph we have seen before. This is a hardened man. This is a man who has been through sheol and back and is not the innocent little 17-year old he once was.
Should he have reacted like that? I don’t know. I want to say “no,” but if ever there was a time when all those things he did felt justifiable, this was it.
It is a little comforting that he seems conflicted about it. Seeing them and reacting to them the way he does moves him to tears. What kind of tears? I’m not sure.
Guilty Conscience Much?
When the brothers encounter Joseph’s cruel demands, their first thought is that they are being punished for what they did to him.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I NEVER would have made that connection.
Have they spent the last 20 years with a guilty conscience? Because that sounds awful. The day they sold Joseph into slavery has haunted them for their whole lives. Not fun.
A Nice Dilemma
I don’t think I have ever typed the word “dilemma” before. It looks weird.
We have some good old fashioned plot tension building at the end of this chapter. Here’s the lowdown:
- Joseph is holding Simeon prisoner until his brothers go and bring the youngest son, Benjamin, to Egypt. If they do not, Simeon will be killed
- Jacob will not let this happen for fear that Benjamin will get killed.
- Jacob has already “lost” Joseph, he does not want to lose Rachel’s other son. I had some thoughts about Jacob and Rachel’s relationship.
What’s going to happen? Honestly I don’t know. I’ve never read this part before. But I’m intrigued! Stay tuned Whole Dang Thingers!
Come back tomorrow. Same Whole Dang Thing Time, same Whole Dang Thing Channel!
The Whole Dang Thing 