Lenten Meditation: February 27, 2024
Daily Scripture Passage: Genesis 42:1-17
Let one of you go and bring your brother, while the rest of you remain in prison, in order that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you; or else, as Pharaoh lives, surely you are spies. — Genesis 42:16
If you know the story of Joseph in Genesis, Joseph’s behavior in this passage is not as strange as it might first seem. Joseph is testing his brothers to see if they have changed.
Earlier in the story, Joseph’s brothers act out of their jealousy. They resent that their father has a special love for Joseph. They throw Joseph into a pit and leave him to die. Then, thinking better of it, they sell him into slavery. Returning home, they tell their father that wild animals have killed Joseph. They are not a model of brotherly love or filial piety.
The details of the story are shocking—to a point. We all come from families. No matter how well-adjusted our families may be (and for many of us, it is not a stretch to say that our families are the opposite and better described as “broken”), all families have conflicts. All of us have had fights with our parents, siblings, children, or members of our extended family, when we say deeply hurtful, and shocking, things. We may have even acted upon them.
But the story of Joseph’s brothers should give us hope.
People can change. Reconciliation is possible.