Genesis 45
Dear RTB’ers,
Joseph and his brothers, again. A few days ago I spoke of confession: Then they said to one another, “Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; for that reason this distress has happened to us.” (Genesis 42:21) They had confessed their sin to one another. We are reminded of the power of corporate confession in James 5:16: Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
So the brothers have gotten this far with their confession to one another. And in today’s reading they see their sin standing before them, exposed with Joseph’s full knowledge. Now, however, finally, somehow they must confess their sin to their father – or not. Scripture does not tell us of the brothers’ confessing to their father, Jacob, what they had done. Recall that they had slaughtered a goat and bloodied Joseph’s robe, with a suggestion to Jacob that a wild beast had apparently killed Joseph. (Genesis 37:31-33) In today’s passage the brothers return to their father, And they told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and indeed he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” (v. 26a) No real confession in that statement. They could have kept their sin hidden: “I guess we were wrong about that wild beast killing him.” Possibly nothing was ever said about their selling Joseph to Midian traders. What really happened between the brothers and Jacob? We don’t know. Possibly this unconfessed sin festered in their lives?? All’s well that ends well?? Not according to the Psalmist: When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality failed as with the dry heat of summer. [Then] I acknowledged my sin to You, and I did not hide my guilt; I said, “I will confess my wrongdoings to the LORD”; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. (Psalm 32:3-5) So, did the brothers (ever) confess? We’ll never know.
Blessings!