If you aren’t careful, committing and concealing sin can deaden your conscience at times—so much so that apart from a gracious work of God to awaken your conscience, you would just life the rest of your life in the awfulness of unconfessed sin.

That’s exactly where Joseph’s brother have been for over 20 years. They learned to live with the wilting awfulness of unconfessed sin. They may have had times of awkward glances, each knowing exactly what the other was thinking—memories of what they did to and with Joseph. But they never confessed their sin.

You see, the suffering of concealing sin only happens for those who have a sensitive conscience. And now, as these 10 brother kneel before who they think is just an Egyptian official, God was beginning to soften their hearts and bring a sensitivity to their consciences. And Joseph, that Egyptian official, was an instrument in God’s hands to bring his brothers to confession and repentance so that they could enjoy unhindered fellowship with their brother and their God once again.