Genesis 42:1 -8

Joseph had changed. When his brothers had last seen him he was only 17. Now 21 years later he did not look the same. He was dressed like an Egyptian. He was clean shaven. And he was 38 years old. He was not speaking to them, but was using an interpreter. When they had last seen him he was being sold as a slave. The man they were looking at now was second in charge of all of Egypt. He had changed in appearance, and he had changed in position and status. He had also changed inwardly, emotionally and spiritually. He was not acting as a brash child, but rather possessed assurance and confidence. His brothers did not recognize him.

Joseph did recognize his brothers. They had all been adults when they sold him into slavery. 21 years had passed but their looks were still similar enough for him to recognize them. Joseph was not a fool. He knew a truth of life, a law of nature that is unchanging. He knew that as long as someone is aging they are changing. He knew that his brothers were not the same as the men who had sold him into slavery. They had been changing just as he had been changing.

Joseph’s problem was that internal changes are not as easily detected as external changes. A person’s real self is seldom obvious from the outside. Unless there is a repentance or a turning back as they age bad people become very bad and good people become very good. Before he revealed himself, Joseph wanted to discern who his brothers had become. There was no easy way for him to do this, so he decided to test them.

Time is changing all of us. That change is not always obvious. Just like Joseph’s brothers, when we are tested, who we really are is revealed. Are we changing for the better or for the worse? If time is not changing us for the better than we need to change directions.