John Calvin Commentary Genesis 50:15

"And when Joseph`s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully requite us all the evil which we did unto him." — Genesis 50:15 (ASV)

And when, Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead. Moses here relates that the sons of Jacob, after the death of their father, were apprehensive that Joseph would take vengeance for the injury they had done him. And why this fear, but because they form their judgment of him according to their own disposition?

That they had found him so forgiving they do not attribute to true piety towards God, nor do they account it a special gift of the Spirit. Instead, they imagine that, out of respect to his father alone, he had until now been so restrained as merely to postpone his revenge.

But by such perverse judgment, they do a great injury to one who, by the liberality of his treatment, had shown them that his mind was free from all hatred and malevolence. Part of the injurious suspicion reflected even upon God, whose special grace had shone forth in the moderation of Joseph.

From this, however, we gather that guilty consciences are so disturbed by blind and unreasonable fears that they stumble in broad daylight. Joseph had absolved his brothers from the crime they had committed against him, but they are so agitated by guilty remorse that they voluntarily become their own tormentors. And it is no thanks to them that they did not bring down upon themselves the very punishment that had been forgiven, because the mind of Joseph might well have been wounded by their distrust.

For what could they mean by still malignantly suspecting him to whose compassion they had again and again owed their lives? Yet I do not doubt that long ago they had repented of their wickedness, but perhaps, because they had not yet been sufficiently purified, the Lord allowed them to be tortured with anxiety and trouble: first, to make them a proof to others that an evil conscience is its own tormentor, and then, to humble them under a renewed sense of their own guilt. For when they regard themselves as liable to their brother’s judgment, they cannot forget, unless they are worse than senseless, the celestial tribunal of God.

What Solomon says, we see daily fulfilled: the wicked flee when no man pursueth (Proverbs 28:1). But in this way, God compels the fugitives to give up their account. They would desire, in their passive stupor, to deceive both God and men, and they bring upon their minds, as much as they can, the callousness of obstinacy. Meanwhile, willingly or unwillingly, they are made to tremble at the sound of a falling leaf, lest their carnal security should obliterate their sense of the judgment of God (Leviticus 26:36).

Nothing is more desirable than a tranquil mind. While God deprives the wicked of this unique benefit, which is desired by all, He invites us to cultivate integrity.

But especially, seeing that the patriarchs, who were already experiencing repentance for their wickedness, are still so severely awakened a long time afterwards, let none of us yield to self-indulgence. Let each one instead diligently examine himself, lest hypocrisy should inwardly harbor the secret stings of the wrath of God. May that happy peace, which can find no place in a double heart, shine within our thoroughly purified breasts.

For this due reward of their neglect remains for all those who do not draw near to God sincerely and with all their heart: they are compelled to stand before the judgment-seat of mortal man. Therefore, there is no other method that can free us from anxiety but that of returning into favor with God. Whoever despises this remedy will be afraid not only of man, but also of a shadow or a breath of wind.