But they were standing before him. He was in power and they were in need. They had come to him for help and now was the time that he could get revenge.
Joseph wasn’t interested in revenge. He did not even want justice. Justice would mean punishing them for their crime. He could easily take them captive and sell everyone of them as slaves. It would have been the naturally thing to do. They were on their knees bowing down to him just as he had dreamed twenty years earlier.
Joseph wasn’t interested in justice. He could easily show them mercy. He could reveal himself to them and send them back to their father and forget the whole incident. After all, he was now the Governor and they were peasant farmers. The merciful thing for Joseph to do would be to forgive them and send them away.
Joseph wasn’t interested in mercy alone. He wanted to have the relationship with his brothers restored. If he showed them mercy, they would always be in his debt. He didn’t want that kind of a relationship. He was their brother and he wanted to be loved as a brother. Mercy was not enough. He wanted to show them grace.
Continued tomorrow - LW
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