I might be a bit behind in terms of my original plan because I don't have internet in Florida and I've been enjoying my vacation (meaning finding time to study the Bible with distractions is harder). So I read Genesis 42 and had a discussion with my aunt/uncle about it. In their view, Joseph's reluctance to reveal himself came from the human desire to sort of take in what the brothers did to him and to act accordingly. I'll address this later but I think the focus of this passage is what does grace and mercy look like and how do we respond to it?
1. It's important to note that mercy comes from whoever was wronged. In other words, mercy is being spared from the deserved punishment that one has incurred. In this passage, it would've been fair for Joseph to condemn his brothers to death for having wronged him but instead he showed mercy and spared them. At the same time, grace was also shown in that he gave them food and he didn't take their payment for it.
The more important note here is that true mercy is found when it is usually least expected. In other words, the greater the sin committed, the least mercy there is to be expected. We see this in how the brothers deal with Joseph (though they don't know it). When standing before a figure of power it is only appropriate to expect that the smallest offense committed against that person would warrant a great punishment. But on the contrary, Joseph shows mercy in terms of position and in terms of what they have done to him in the past.
2. The more dictionary-based point of mercy and grace is that they are undeserved. And so in terms of anticipating mercy and grace, neither are to be expected. So in terms of what Joseph has done and after he has accused them of being spies, the last thing on the minds of the brothers was to escape out of there alive. At the same time they didn't understand the grace of never paying for the grain that they took back with them to Israel.
3. Mercy and grace can make us feel bad, but it doesn't make us repentant. This is key because look at how the brothers communicate with Jacob. They are so focused on going back to Egypt to provide for themselves and their family that they don't realize what they are asking of Jacob. From our perspective we think the sin they need to repent of is destroying Joseph. But on the contrary, the greater sin in this passage, at least in my opinion, is depriving Jacob of his two most favorite sons born from the wife he loved Rachel. The brothers feel bad that they took Joseph away from Jacob but here we see they are asking him to give up Benjamin as well. The mercy in this part of the passage comes from Jacob but it doesn't make the sons anymore repentant.
Looking at this in the bigger picture, that's what we did on the cross. Because of our sins God gave up His Son so that we can be saved. We deprived God of His Son because we are so unwilling to repent and we don't know how much that hurt the father that we repeat the offense over and over. Like Jacob losing Joseph, God lost His son to us, to our iniquities so that we can be saved. In a way, Jesus was able to return to the father. But I can't help but think God at some point must've been hurt by the loss because we need that saving grace. Given all the glory that God received on the cross, I can't help but think that in our sin we remind God of the pain and suffering His son felt because of us, a pain that makes even Jesus recite
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