Joseph—the test
Thanks for joining me for part 9 of The Gift of the Bible, as we explore the amazing life of Joseph. Today on Choosing Peace you’ll read about honest men, a one-way mirror and swamp creatures.
Recap
Here’s a quick recap of Joseph’s story, found in the book of Genesis. Joseph was his father Jacob’s favorite son, and his 10 older brothers hated him. They sold Joseph into slavery when he was 17, and he was brought to Egypt. He spent the next 13 years in slavery and prison—falsely accused of attempted sexual assault by his owner’s wife. When Joseph was 30, Pharaoh rescued him from prison and made him the #2 man in Egypt because Joseph rightly interpreted Pharaoh’s disturbing dreams and rightly recommended how to prepare for the severe famine to come. Pharaoh gave Joseph a wife and they had two sons. During the seven foretold years of prosperity, Joseph and his men stored vast quantities of food. Joseph was now 37 years old. The famine hit the people far and wide.
Accusation and denial
The last post ended with Joseph’s 10 older brothers coming to Egypt to buy food. They bowed down before Joseph, not having any idea who he was. This came next.
Joseph saw his brothers, and he recognized them, but he acted like he did not know them, and spoke harshly with them. And he said to them, “Where do you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.” So Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. Then Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies. You have come to look for the vulnerabilities of the country.” But they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. We are all sons of one man. We are honest men. Your servants are not spies.”
Genesis 42:7-11, New Heart English Bible
Prophetic dreams
At the right time—documented in the scripture above—Joseph remembered his dreams from so long ago. When he was 17, the Lord gave Joseph two dreams that showed his brothers bowing down to him. Sharing these dreams with the 10 brothers who hated him impacted their decision to sell him into slavery. Genesis 37:8b tells us: “So they hated him all the more for his dream and for what he said” (NHEB). And here they were, 20 years later, bowing down to him. What a strange, surreal moment that must have been for Joseph after all those years.
Pharaoh’s two dreams were also prophetic, and they started coming true immediately, as Joseph said they would—the seven years of plenty followed by the seven years of horrific famine.
To see or not to see
In part 8, we went over the importance of repeated words or phrases in the Bible. The word recognize is used three times in the scripture passage quoted above to emphasize (1) Joseph’s absolute clarity regarding who was who, and (2) his 10 brothers’ complete unknowing—their inability to see who was right in front of them.
Why did Joseph’s brothers not recognize him? Joseph looked like an Egyptian and he sounded like an Egyptian—speaking a foreign language and conversing with them using an interpreter. But more importantly, it was vital for them not to recognize him. Joseph needed to hear what they had to say every step of the way. He needed to determine if and how they had changed. Joseph’s brothers thought he couldn’t understand them. This presumption gave Joseph a one-way mirror. He could see and hear them fully and they saw only his position of authority.
The honest men
Joseph’s brothers said, “We are honest men.” Right. “Honest men” who sold their brother into slavery 20 years ago, convinced their father that he was dead, and hid that lie every day for 20 years. Not one of them ever confessed the truth to their father. Not one. Perhaps they thought too highly of themselves. “Honest men,” indeed.
The honest face in the mirror
We can relate to that, can’t we, Peaceful Readers? Have there been times when we viewed ourselves too highly? When we ignored or minimized our own sin? Most definitely. It’s a pride thing. It’s a denial thing. It’s a sin thing.
For some reason, I had a very hard time admitting the truth about my cheating in school. I finally admitted it in part 3 and told my 8th grade story to Brandon and Logan last week. They both laughed out loud. They loved what my teacher did. My 8th grade math teacher gave us an assignment the first day of class. He was a middle-aged man—ex-military. Each problem had multiple numbers we were working with. He had us grade our own papers and gave the wrong answers for some of the equations. Those of us who made a 100 obviously cheated. He separated our papers from everyone else’s and told us to stop it. He alone knew who we were. If we cheated again, our parents would be notified. There would be consequences.
The biggest consequence for cheating—for those of us who actually have a conscience—is the guilt we feel. And that is not fun. (See this post to explore the difference between guilt and shame.) We discover, eventually, that the cheating—or the other sin plaguing our minds—just isn’t worth it. We can’t escape from ourselves or from the truth. I remember this old German proverb: “A clear conscience is a soft pillow.” Yes, it is.
“A clear conscience is a soft pillow.”
German proverb
Salvation, forgiving, healing
How do we actually achieve “a clear conscience”? After accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, we must receive God’s forgiveness at a heart level. Forgiving ourselves also plays a role. These deep needs can be easier said than done. Read my salvation story here (part 1 and part 2). And begin exploring the Forgiving series.
We also have to successfully grieve our traumas and losses so we aren’t plagued by serious unfinished emotional and spiritual business. Read the Grieving series. If a trauma or loss is unresolved in your life, do the work of grieving. No one else can do it for you. Lay down the lies. Lay down the fear. Lay down the denial. Read part 2 thru part 6 of The Trauma of Perfection. You’ll learn How to Unpack a Trauma or Loss. See it all the way through. Explore this post about The Healing Journey. You can walk forward in healing and peace.
Evil in our family and our government
The reason why most of us have had problems with our own conscience is because we actually have one. We’re guilty of sin and we feel bad about it until we repent and walk in the Lord’s forgiveness. As many of us have painfully learned, some people feel no remorse for their sins. None whatsoever. They have no conscience. My sociopathic in-laws are stellar examples. So is my now-deceased sibling, Pam, The Almighty—the malignant narcissist. (See Sociopaths and Narcissists in the index.)
What about many of the people in power over our nation? We see examples of rampant sin and evil being committed by various “swamp creatures”—as Liz Wheeler so aptly calls them—in our federal government, particularly as various details are being revealed on a daily basis.
Well, Peaceful Readers, it’s time to put on our rubber rain boots. A lot of muck has oozed out onto the floor—from Washington, DC all the way to our own homes, lives and bank accounts.
Recommended viewing
#1: The Liz Wheeler Show, episode 81
If you only watch one podcast in this section, watch this one.
Mainstream media lies funded by tax dollars
Since 2015 when Trump was running for president, the federal government spent $34.3M of our tax dollars funding Politico’s disinformation and swamp propaganda. How much did they pay CNN, MSNBC and others, pray tell? Liz tells us how to look that up. [Lead story.]
Bye-bye, CIA
An 8-month severance buy-out was offered to 2 million federal employees, including the entire CIA workforce. [Start at 22:44 in the broadcast.]
Yes, the entire CIA—our nation’s massive, taxpayer-funded drug cartel that sows lies and topples governments worldwide. Perhaps CIA actually stands for Chaos Instigators Anonymous.
The daily question; death threats; Gaza
(1) Learn the question President Trump asks his top people every morning. (2) Sources report that Iranian assassination teams are being sent to take out President Trump and/or people around him. Hear President Trump’s response. (3) Trump describes the U.S. taking over the Gaza strip. [Start at 23:50.]
The goal; sanctuary cities; death threats to DOGE
(1) Trump demonstrates his goal of peace. (2) New Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the pause of all federal money to sanctuary cities. (3) The left targets Elon Musk’s DOGE* employees—publishing their names and spewing death threats. [Start at 31:40.]
*DOGE: Department of Government Efficiency
#2: The Liz Wheeler Show, episode 79
USAID—run by the CIA—orchestrates regime changes abroad and at home
Here are three of the many disturbing line items funded by our tax dollars. Watch this Liz Wheeler episode for more.
♦ USAID* spent $20M “to dig up dirt… on Rudy Giuliani,” which they used “as the basis to impeach Trump… in 2019.”
♦ “USAID has funded the heroin industry in Afghanistan.”
♦ “USAID funded the Wuhan lab,” which created COVID-19 ($40M).
Recipients of USAID money received substantially less money than USAID claims to have given them. Where did the missing billions of dollars go? That’s a fine question. Personally, I’m thinking about two words: money laundering. Translation: “Billions of our tax dollars went to the political crime families (Biden, Obama, Clinton, Bush) and the oligarchs—the behind-the-scenes puppet-masters.”
*USAID: U.S. Agency for International Development
Income tax and Social Security
In the past, was our nation prosperous without relying on income tax? Yes, indeed. Watch this excellent 14-minute Brylan Riggs podcast to learn about the history of federal income tax and President Trump’s desire to end it.
Elon Musk and DOGE uncovered massive fraud—I mean stealing—of our hard-earned money paid into Social Security. Watch this 13-minute Brylan Riggs podcast.
The FBI
During Kash Patel’s confirmation hearing, Senator Josh Hawley from Missouri outs the FBI’s citizen targeting campaign. (Whistleblowers provided FBI memos.) To say the least, Senator Hawley “goes off” on the FBI. Peaceful Readers, I think you’ll totally dig this 8-minute news clip. I sure did.
In this 16-minute Glenn Beck podcast with Rep. Barry Loudermilk from Georgia, you’ll learn about the FBI’s negligence, lies, citizen targeting, and how Liz Cheney’s January 6 committee deleted one terabyte of files, including all testimony exonerating President Trump and all videotaped testimony. Evil on steroids.
The dangers and discrimination of DEI and the woke agenda
Consider how the power of the Washington, DC swamp creatures oozes out into daily life, corporate America, state and local politics, travel, etc. Here are some examples.
American Eagle plane crash in DC
Start at 36:32 in the #1 Liz Wheeler podcast (featured above).
U.S. military
Watch this excellent 15-minute Brylan Riggs podcast, which includes DEI, consequences for Gen. Milley, Pride Month, and Biden’s defense secretary’s threat against U.S. citizens.
Effects of DEI, which is illegal under our own Civil Rights laws
Jobs lost, discrimination, and lawsuits won. Explore the great DEI purge on Facts Matter with Roman Balmakov.
Mainstream media
We started these recommended podcasts with the story about DC’s swamp creatures being in bed with the mainstream media—paying one outlet millions of dollars per year. Let’s end with a FOX News clip along those lines.
Kayleigh McEnany welcomes incoming Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt
♦ “The View” lost a $15M defamation suit regarding President Trump.
♦ Unlike his ridiculous predecessor, Trump communicates actively with the media.
♦ Key statement from incoming Press Secretary Leavitt: “Trust in the legacy media is at an all-time low.”
It sure is. We thank God for the truth-speakers. Times they are a-changin‘.
Deception has been at the core of our government’s evil. And there’s plenty of deception in Joseph’s story. I find the interplay with his brothers to be fascinating. What happened next?
The replacement story
Joseph again accused his brothers of being spies. They again denied it, saying they were all sons of the same father, their youngest brother was at home with their father, “and one is no more” ~ Genesis 42:13, NHEB. Ummm, I call that a non-responsive response. Being from a big family doesn’t make you not a spy. It also doesn’t make you not a liar.
Do you hear what Joseph’s brothers did to soothe their consciences? They wrote a replacement story. “Joseph must have died on the way to Egypt, in slavery in Egypt, of illness or disease, etc., so our father is right in believing he’s dead. We consider him dead too. Joseph, you are dead to us.” Slick, huh?
The string and the chain
As individuals and as a group, each brother eased his conscience by telling himself a string of lies and justifications. I suspect they sounded something like this. Joseph is dead. What our father believes is true. It’s a done deal. Why bother confessing the actual chain of events? Life is difficult enough already. Besides, we all made a pact to keep our mouths shut. I gave them my word. I’m an honest man. I keep my word. Do you hear the mental gymnastics? The justifications?
Another example
Consider this example from World War 2, included in part 1 of Tearing Down the Barriers to Forgiving.
WW2: The first massacre
In chapter 8 of Ordinary Men, author Christopher Browning quotes a 35-year-old metalworker’s testimony about the battalion’s first massacre of Jewish people—a face-to-face, one-on-one indoctrination. This particular policeman killed only children—justifying that they couldn’t survive without their mothers. His comrade shot the child’s mother. Then he shot the child—thinking it would be “soothing to my conscience….” He told himself that he was helping the children. He was releasing or “saving” them.
Translation: “I’m doing you a favor.”
Justification 101.
I’ll ask it again. Do you hear the mental gymnastics? The justifications? Read more in that important post about justifications and excuses in slavery, in abortion, in our extended family. Take the time to reflect on the questions about your own justifications.
What happened next in Joseph’s life?
The test
For the third time, Joseph accused his 10 brothers of being spies. This time, he told them that he would test them. He insisted that their youngest brother be brought to Egypt to corroborate their story. “So he put all of them in prison together for three days” ~ Genesis 42:17, NHEB. Can you imagine the conversations they had in prison?
The requirement
After that, Joseph basically threatened them with death, saying they would live if they did what he said. One brother would remain in prison in Egypt and the other nine would take grain home to their families. Joseph insisted that they bring back their youngest brother, and they said they would.
Then they said to one another, “We are certainly guilty concerning our brother, because we saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us, and we wouldn’t listen. Therefore this distress has come upon us.” Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not tell you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy,’ but you wouldn’t listen? Therefore, look, now comes a reckoning for his blood.” Now they did not know that Joseph could understand them, since he was speaking through an interpreter. He stepped away from them and wept. Then he returned to them and talked with them. Then he took Simeon from them and bound him in front of them.
Genesis 42:21-24, New Heart English Bible
The truth
What a turning point! Joseph’s brothers acknowledged their guilt and the consequences for their sin. And Joseph heard it all. He saw their faces. He watched their body language. He drank it all in and left the room, weeping in response.
Singled out—Simeon
Why did Joseph have Simeon handcuffed—so to speak—and imprisoned? Why did he choose Simeon as the one brother to stay behind? Well, his oldest brother Reuben was obviously against the whole sell-Joseph-into-slavery thing. Simeon was Joseph’s second-oldest brother. But there’s more to his story than his birth order. Much more.
Murderer
Simeon and Levi, born next, were the two brothers who committed mass murder against all the males—adults and children—in a city near their land in Canaan. The city’s prince had raped their sister Dinah. (See part 3 for that little-known, very disturbing chapter of the story.)
Here’s the thing. Dinah was born right before Joseph was conceived, so they were roughly one year apart in age. Dinah was referred to as “a young woman” in chapter 34 of Genesis. Was she 14, 16, 18? They may have kept Joseph from finding out about Dinah being raped. But with Joseph being a teenager, he was probably aware of at least some of the retaliation that went down. Mass murder by Simeon and Levi, with vast plundering and capturing by his other older brothers. The traumatized women and female children from the city were either (1) brought to their farm, (2) sold into slavery, and/or (3) released. Whether or not Joseph saw the captured women and girls, the arrival of all the plundered goods and flocks wouldn’t have gone unnoticed. Something really bad just happened. Something big and violent.
The final word
The mass murder chapter was a life-defining moment for Simeon and Levi. Years later, right before their father Jacob died, he said:
“Gather yourselves together so that I may tell you what will happen to you in the days to come. Assemble yourselves and hear, you sons of Jacob. Listen to Israel, your father….
Simeon and Levi are brothers. Their swords are weapons of violence. May I never enter their council. May my honor never be joined with their assembly. For in their anger they killed men, and for pleasure they hamstrung oxen. Cursed be their anger, for it has been fierce, and their fury, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.”
Genesis 49:1b-2, 5-7, New Heart English Bible
Was Jacob too hard on Simeon and Levi? Nope. The Bible tells us that he gave each son the “blessing” that was suitable. He spoke rightly.
The role
What was Simeon’s role in Joseph being sold into slavery? We don’t know the details, but remember that some of his brothers wanted to kill him. And two of his brothers—Simeon and Levi—had major experience in that department. They slaughtered a city’s entire male population—adults, teens, boys, toddlers and babies. Simeon and Levi committed premeditated mass murder.
When Joseph saw his brothers again in Egypt, more than 20 years had passed since that fateful day—The Day of Slaughter. And 17 more years passed before Jacob spoke the truth over Simeon and Levi regarding their character and their future. Even though more than 37 years had passed since The Day of Slaughter, their father knew that Simeon and Levi hadn’t changed. They were still angry, violent men.
The choice
Joseph chose Simeon to stay behind. To be shackled. To be put in prison. To be singled out. And we know that Joseph was righteous, wise and courageous.
Whether or not Simeon understood why he was singled out, he was the right choice.
The day
When Joseph got up one morning, he had no earthly idea that he’d see his 10 older brothers for the first time in 20 years. He had no idea that they’d bow down before him—fulfilling the two dreams he had when he was 17 years old. He had no idea that they wouldn’t recognize him. He had no idea that God would show him how to test them. He had no idea that he’d imprison them all for three days. He had no idea that some of them would confess their sin and express remorse. He had no idea that he’d have Simeon bound in chains in front of his brothers before they were sent home to bring Benjamin to Egypt.
When the day began, he had no idea what was in store.
And neither do we.
So we live with open hands that say:
“Lord, I’m in your hands and you are faithful.”
Coming next: Joseph continues to test and perplex his brothers. What does this testing reveal? Until next time, thanks for reading and for Choosing Peace.
Truth from The Word: Mark 13:11
Song: “Whate’er My God Ordains Is Right” by Sovereign Grace Music
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