“Do this and you will live, for I fear God.”
Joseph had imprisoned his 10 brothers, accusing them of being spies. To prove they weren’t, one brother was to fetch Benjamin from their father, while the other brothers remained confined.
But after 3 days in prison he came to them and said, “Look, I understand your families are back in Canaan starving from the famine. And because I fear God, I’m going to just keep one of you here to guarantee you bring Benjamin; the rest of you can go and take food back to your families” (Gen 42:18-20).
I am intrigued by Joseph’s statement: I fear God. Why did he make a point of saying this to his 10 brothers?
It appears Joseph’s sensitive conscience had begun to trouble him about his original demand. For if only one brother were to return to Canaan he wouldn’t have the means to carry enough food for all their families. Innocent children might suffer. And God-fearing Joseph surely did not want to answer for that. So he modified his original demand.
As a by-product, when he told his brothers, “I fear God,” Joseph highlighted the accountability each of us has before God for our actions.
How did this affect the brothers? Suddenly God is back in the picture for them. They immediately feel and express their guilt for having sold Joseph into slavery 22 years prior. They are cut to the quick and they interpret their present crisis as punishment from the hand of God (42:21-22). But mercifully, it became the starting point for their repentance. And it led, ultimately, to a beautiful reconciliation. My sense is that their spiritual awakening was precipitated, at least in part, through Joseph’s statement, I fear God.
Here’s a takeaway. When we walk circumspectly before God, it changes how we operate. Say, for example, that you have set out to do a certain task. Along the way the Lord alerts you to something you must do or must not do, and it involves a course correction. When that happens, don’t be shy about verbalizing to those around you why you’re changing direction: Because I fear God. The Lord will use your humility and your saltiness to convict, to call to account, and to bring to light hidden motives (1 Cor 14:24-25). Who knows the impact of your transparency because you “fear God”?