Joel M Bradshaw

21Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” 22And Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.” 23They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them. 24Then he turned away from them and wept.–Genesis 42

This is an interesting moment for us as the readers. I see a language moment like this happen all the time. I’ll be at the store and two people will be talking in their native language rather than in English. Not too long ago, I witnessed a couple speaking in an Asian language I didn’t recognize. It ended up being Khmer. I had never heard the Khmer language spoken before or met anyone from Cambodia. That couple therefore basically had the freedom to talk without anyone else understanding!

Joseph was using an interpreter, but obviously didn’t need it. The brothers thought they could therefore speak freely as long as the interpreter didn’t translate to Joseph. And speak freely they did. Joseph got to hear information that he might not have known. He definitely got to hear their current struggle. They admitted they were guilty regarding what they did to Joseph.

All those years we imagine Joseph replaying that moment in his head. Him crying out for mercy from his brothers and they ignoring him. Now Joseph got to hear that that very moment haunted them, as well. No wonder Joseph wept!

This was a surprise confession for Joseph to witness. I would imagine he needed to hear those words even if he already had decided to forgive his brothers long ago. If you were once a villain, listen to the convicting work of God within your hearts and be a confessor. If you were once a victim, emotionally receive evidence of God at work in others. The villain has hope based in repentance. The victim gets closure based in forgiveness.-JMB