Genesis chapter 43

So here we have Jacob who at the end of the last chapter, flat out refused to let the brothers take Benjamin to Egypt to prove they were telling the truth and to get Simeon released from prison.

You know, you have to feel sorry for Simeon in this chapter.  Very little mention is made of him, yet he is the one stuck in prison, whilst his brothers go home and spend so much time there that they could have been to Egypt and back twice.  It would have been easy for Simeon to become bitter.  After all, he had practically been abandoned by his family, he knew the terms of his release and it would have been evident to him that his father would rather lose him than Benjamin.

But no mention is made of this in the bible, and I am pretty sure that if Simeon had come out of prison full of bitterness and hatred, it would tell us this.  Maybe, just maybe, the time alone (I'm assuming he was in his own cell in prison here, although I am sure that the prison was as comfortable as Joseph could arrange it) gave him pause for thought, gave him the chance to reflect on what had gone on over the years, how he had treated his younger brother Joseph and how he and his brothers had spent the intervening years worrying about this and regretting what they had done.  Maybe this time in prison when he didn't have to tend the flocks, see to the herds, and do all the million and one other things he was always doing when at home meant he could spend time with God, reflecting, meditating, repenting. 

I think we all need time like this, time when we are not in a rush to get to work, do the school run, sort out the children, finish that piece of work, and anything and everything that fills our lives in this busy world.  We live in such a fast paced world, where there is always something to be done and the "to do" list just keeps getting longer and longer.  I often wish I had the time to just take some time out, to spend time in prayer and meditation instead of getting up ever earlier to make sure I have enough time to do everything.  Everything always seems so rushed, and I always seem to be in such a hurry that I never truly appreciate those moments when I can just sit and be still.

I reckon we could all do with some time on our own like Simeon, not that I am advocating going to prison here mind!  But just allocating part of our day to just sit and be with God, to take time out, even if it is only a few minutes, and just spend it with God , in quiet, and just listening for what God has to say to each one of us.