John Calvin Commentary Genesis 42:21

"And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us." — Genesis 42:21 (ASV)

And they said one to another. This is a remarkable passage, showing that the sons of Jacob, when reduced to the greatest distress, recall to memory a fratricide committed thirteen years previously. Before affliction pressed upon them, they were in a state of lethargy. Moses relates that, even recently, they had spoken without agitation of Joseph’s death, as if they were conscious of no evil.

But now they are compelled (so to speak) to examine their own consciences. We see then, how in adversity, God searches and tests men; and how, while dispelling all their flattering illusions, He not only pierces their minds with secret fear, but extorts a confession which they would gladly avoid.

And this kind of examination is very necessary for us. Remarkable is the hypocrisy of men in covering their sins; and if impunity is allowed, their negligence will be increased twofold. Therefore, no remedy remains, except that those who give themselves up to slumber when the Lord deals gently with them, should be awakened by afflictions and punishments.

Joseph therefore produced some good effect, when he extorted from his brothers the acknowledgment of their sin, in which they had securely indulged themselves. And the Lord had compassion on them, in removing the covering by which they had been too long deceived. In the same manner, while He daily chastens us by the hand of man, He draws us, as guilty, to His tribunal.

Nevertheless, it would profit little to be tested by adversity, unless He inwardly touched the heart; for we see how few reflect on their sins, although admonished by most severe punishments. Certainly, no one comes to this state of mind except reluctantly. Therefore, there is no doubt that God, in order to lead the sons of Jacob to repentance, impelled them, both by the secret prompting of His Spirit and by outward chastisement, to become aware of that sin which had been too long concealed.

Let the reader also observe that the sons of Jacob did not only fix their minds on something immediate, but considered that divine punishments were inflicted in various ways upon sinners. And undoubtedly, in order to understand God’s judgments, we must extend our views far.

Sometimes indeed God, by inflicting present punishment on sinners, holds them up for observation as on a theater; but often, as if aiming at another object, He takes vengeance for our sins unexpectedly, and from an unseen quarter. If the sons of Jacob had merely looked for some immediate cause of their sufferings, they could have done nothing but loudly complain that they had been injured; and eventually despair would have followed.

But while considering how far and wide the providence of God extends, looking beyond the occasion immediately before their eyes, they trace it back to a remote cause. It is, however, doubtful whether they say that they shall be held guilty on account of their brother, or for their brother’s sake, or that they will themselves confess that they have sinned: for the Hebrew noun, אשמים (ashaimim) is ambiguous because it sometimes refers to the crime committed, and sometimes to the punishment, as in Latin, piaculum signifies both the crime and the expiation.

On the whole, it is of little consequence which meaning is preferred, for they acknowledge their sin either in its guilt or its punishment. But the latter meaning appears to me the more simple and genuine: that they are deservedly punished because they had been so cruel to their brother.

In that we saw the anguish of his soul. They acknowledge that it is by the just judgment of God that they obtained nothing by their suppliant entreaties, because they themselves had acted so cruelly towards their brother. Christ had not yet uttered the sentence, “With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you again” (Matthew 7:2), but it was a dictate of nature that those who had been cruel to others were unworthy of compassion. We ought to take all the more heed that we do not prove deaf to so many warnings of Scripture. Dreadful is that denunciation:

“Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, and shall not be heard” (Proverbs 21:13).

Therefore while we have time, let us learn to practice humanity, to sympathize with the miserable, and to extend our hand to give assistance.

But if at any time it happens that we are treated roughly by men, and our prayers are proudly rejected, then, at least, let us ask ourselves the question whether we ourselves have in any way acted unkindly towards others. For although it would be better to be wise beforehand, it is, nevertheless, some advantage, whenever others proudly despise us, to reflect whether those with whom we have dealt have not experienced similar hardships from us.

“Our brother,” they say, “entreated us when he was in utmost distress: we rejected his prayers: therefore it is by God’s retribution that we can obtain nothing.”

By these words they bear witness that the hearts of men are so under God’s governance that they can be inclined to equity or hardened in unyielding harshness.

Moreover, their cruelty was hateful to God because, since His goodness is spread through heaven and earth, and His beneficence extends not only to men but even to animals, nothing is more contrary to His nature than that we should cruelly reject those who implore our protection.