A few weeks ago, my family and I went on a vacation to get away for a few days. We decided to visit a part of the country that none of us had ever been to (Oregon), and drive all over the state, seeing every possible thing we could.
If you’ve never been there, the beauty in Oregon is incredible. I remember a teacher telling me that that was truly “God’s country” – a remark I took exception to as a native Texan – and he was absolutely right. The scenery, the weather, the landscape were all breathtaking.
During the course of those eight days, we put nearly 1600 miles on a rental car that was barely big enough for the five of us. I learned a very important lesson around mile 311…
Get a bigger car.
Anyone that’s ever been on a roadtrip will probably agree with me. Eight days is a long time to be jammed into a vehicle, especially when one of them has to go to the bathroom every five minutes. It’s “stressful,” to say the least.
Imagine what the road back home to Canaan would have been like for Joseph’s brothers. They have around a month (give or take a week) to walk back to Canaan from Egypt. One can only imagine the conversations that ensued.
Perhaps that’s one reason why Joseph tells his brothers, as they’re leaving Egypt to fetch their father Jacob, to not fight on the way there. Specifically, he says, “Don’t quarrel on the journey” (Genesis 45:24). What was Joseph worried about?
- Reuben Blaming the Others. To be fair, Reuben has already done this once before. In Genesis 42:22, he looks at his brothers and says, “Didn’t I tell you not to sell Joseph?!” Perhaps Joseph was worried that, as the oldest, Reuben might seize the opportunity to tell all of his family how right he was all along. And, in the process, how oh-so-very wrong they all were. Imagine how aggravating that would be to listen to the whole way home.
- Worry of Joseph’s Change of Heart. What the brothers did to Joseph was bad – so bad, that most people would deem it nearly unforgivable. And yet Joseph had made it very plain to all of them that he was over it, and that God had even been able to use it to bring about survival of their family. But what if, somewhere around the mid-point of the journey home, they worried that Joseph could have a change of heart? What if they worried that he would throw them all in prison when they returned? That’s reason enough to stay home and not go back to Egypt, but a division over that decision would’ve definitely taken place.
- Anxiety Over Revealing Their Sin. When the brothers arrive back in Canaan, they’re going to have to tell their father what they did in selling Joseph into slavery nearly 20 years earlier. That’s two decades of pain that they caused their father; you think anyone wants to volunteer to break that news? They knew their father would be overjoyed to hear about Joseph’s state – in fact, Genesis 45:27-28 tells us how he responded – but that initial conversation will be awkward, to say the least.
- Don’t Get Over-Excited. The actual word that is used in Genesis 45:24 for “quarrel” literally means to “not get too excited.” There’s a hint of violence in the usage too, which may mean that Joseph is worried that they’ll get so exuberant on the way home that they’ll do something rash. Don’t be dumb, Joseph says. Get home, get Jacob, and get back.
We’ll never know what exactly Joseph had in mind when he told his brothers to “not quarrel,” but it’s clear that the two months the brothers spent going home and coming back would be a test of their resolve.
And a test of their faith, for that matter. Would God protect them on the way home? Or was this another ruse set up by Joseph to end in their demise. The only way they would know for sure is by coming back to Egypt with Jacob.