Genesis Chapter 42

21 They said to one another, Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that's why this distress has come upon us.
37 Then Reuben said to his father, You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back.


Firstly, the one thing that the brothers think of when Joseph accuses them of being spies is that they are being punished for what they did to Joseph. Years have passed since they sold Joseph into slavery and yet this is the first thing that springs to mind. They were consumed by their guilt and had probably spent all the intervening years with that nagging sense of having done something wrong, always worrying about what they had done, whether Jacob would find out and so on. They had had no peace in all those years.

But what a change had been wrought in the brothers. Here, Reuben accepts responsibility, stands up to his father and promises to bring Benjamin back safely or else Jacob can kill Reuben's two sons. Whereas all those years ago, he went along with the scheme to kill Joseph and did nothing to prevent harm coming to his brother. Just as God had been working on Joseph, changing him from the proud young man to a man who knew that God was in control, a man of responsibility, of status, working to keep nations alive through a severe famine, God had also been working on the brothers, making them appreciate the wrong they had done and turning them from jealous, insecure men to men who could be relied upon and trusted, men who would do the right thing no matter what the cost. They could have become even more hardened, have continued to close their hearts and minds to God. I mean, men who would do this to their brother are capable of anything, and it would have been so easy so slip down the road of always trying to get their own way, being self centred and using their strength to get what they wanted.

In the same way, God is working on each one of us believers making us more like Jesus each and every day. For some, this may be something that takes place very quickly, for others it takes years. It can be a quick process or a gradual one. What matters is that we are prepared to accept God working on us, that we allow the Holy Spirit to change us from within, and that we have the patience to wait and see what God does.