When Jacob's sons returned from Egypt with the grain, Jacob learned that Simeon had been detained in Egypt (42:24, 36). This also was a suffering and an exercise to him. When we consider these chapters again on Joseph's side, the reigning side, we shall see how wise Joseph was. He did not keep the money, but rather had it put into the bags of grain (42:25). When one of them discovered that his money had been put in the mouth of his sack, he told his brothers about it, "and their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us?" (42:28). When they returned home and discovered "every man's bundle of money was in his sack," they all, including Jacob, were afraid (42:35). Jacob seemed to say, "What is this? One of my sons has been detained, and you have brought back the grain, but the money is in your sacks. Suppose we finish this grain, and the famine continues. What shall we do then? We will have to go back to Egypt to buy more grain. But what shall we do with this money?" Jacob also learned the sad news that Benjamin had to go to Egypt. After he heard this, he said, "Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me" (42:36). Although Reuben promised to bring Benjamin back to Jacob, Jacob did not listen to him. Rather, he said, "My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone" (42:38).
Genesis 43:1 and 2 say, "And the famine was severe in the land. And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food" (Heb.). At this point Judah reminded Jacob that in order to buy food again in Egypt, they had to take Benjamin with them. Thus, due to the severity of the famine, Jacob was forced to send his youngest son with his brothers to Egypt to buy grain (42:4, 36; 43:1-15). What a suffering this was to Jacob! God was emptying this jar, taking everything away from him. After Benjamin went with his brothers to Egypt, Jacob was left alone without any of his sons. Joseph had been taken away, Simeon had been detained in Egypt, and now all the others had also gone down to Egypt. Perhaps that night Jacob said, "What do I have left? All my twelve sons are gone, and I don't know what will happen to them. On the first trip one of my sons was detained. I cannot say how many will be detained the second time." Although this was a great suffering to Jacob, the main point here is not his suffering—it is the fact that he was being emptied out by God. God took away everything that had previously filled him, and now Jacob was completely empty. But, as we shall see, on the day Jacob received the good news about Joseph, he was completely filled with the fullness of life.
God had taken away Rachel, Joseph, Simeon, and finally all the remaining ten sons, including Benjamin. When Benjamin was with his brothers in Egypt being reconciled to Joseph, Joseph was very happy. Jacob, however, was at home alone, being emptied out by the Lord. Night after night Jacob probably had the deep sense that he was an empty vessel. Everything that had once filled him had been taken away. This was altogether sovereign of the Lord. The Lord was preparing him to be filled with the divine life.
Let us now consider the situation from Joseph's point of view. The way Joseph dealt with his brothers was also sovereign of the Lord. Joseph detained Simeon and then had all the money bags returned to the others (42:24-25). What was Joseph's purpose in detaining Simeon? Why did he not detain one of the other brothers? I believe that Simeon was the leader of the conspiracy against Joseph. Simeon was cruel. He and Levi had killed Hamor and Shechem and destroyed their city (34:25-29). In 49:5 Jacob said, "Simeon and Levi are brethren; their swords are weapons of violence" (Heb.). I also believe that Simeon took the lead in proposing that Joseph be killed. Although Joseph's brothers did not recognize him, he was very clear about them. When he first saw them, he gave them a difficult time in order to touch their conscience. They said to one another, "We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us" (42:21). Then Joseph "took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes" (42:24). This must have caused Simeon to consider what he had done to Joseph. During his imprisonment, Simeon might have thought, "Why am I the only one being detained? Oh, I never should have done that to Joseph." What Joseph did to Simeon was truly sovereign of the Lord.
Not even when the brothers came to Egypt the second time did Joseph reveal himself to them immediately. If I had been he, I would have said, "I am Joseph. How good it is that you have come back with Benjamin, my brother. Please return home and tell my father about me." Instead of doing this, Joseph had a feast prepared for his brothers (43:16). This surprised them and caused them to be afraid. After the feast, Joseph commanded that his brothers' sacks be filled with food, that their money be put in the mouth of the sacks, and that his silver cup be placed in the sack of the youngest. Surely Joseph's brothers must have been happy to leave Egypt. But Joseph's steward overtook them and accused them of stealing his master's cup. When the cup was found in Benjamin's sack, the brothers "rent their clothes" and returned to the city (44:13). They must have been terrified. Joseph, however, was not punishing them; he was touching their conscience. It was only after all this that Joseph made himself known to his brothers.