Dream coats, pain and weeping

The story of Joseph has been very intriguing to me lately.  Especially the part where he had to forgive his brothers and reveal himself.  In scripture we see that he wept when he saw them and did somethings that have always confused me.  I have always been taught that he wept because he was so happy to see his brothers and his heart was overwhelmed.  So that has always left me with some questions....WHY didn’t he just reveal himself from day one if he was so excited?  Why did he put them through all he did?  Was it necessary to make them go back and forth, hide the cup in the bag, arrest one of them and just basically be a little bit nasty?  Honestly, that has always been in the back of my mind.  It has been said he was testing their motives, but it true forgiveness dependent on the motive of the other person?

Think about it, last time Joseph saw them they sold him!  They threw him down in a pit and SOLD HIM!  Then he was forced into a life of slavery, prison, starvation and loneliness.  Can you imagine the dejection and WHY GOD’S that he experienced?  We see that God honored his faithfulness to a righteous standard and how he was promoted to 2nd in command of the entire nation of Egypt.  But it didn’t come with out a great deal of pain and cost.   I mean, come on now....we know now the purpose and we learn so much from his story, but did he realize when he was in the middle of it?  We know that he made the best of it, but what was the reality day to day for him?  

THEN, boom all of a sudden there he is faced with those who were the soul reason for all the heart ache he experienced.   

I believe he wept because he was wrestling with the pain and the heart ache of rejection.  He was face to face with the hurt in a way that was causing him physical pain.  I wonder if all the things he did to his brother before revealing himself was just a knee jerk reaction to what they did to him?  I don’t believe that he completely understood God’s plan and GET IT until he revealed himself to his brothers.  Then he was flooded with love and the grace to forgive.  

I don’t quit have my brain wrapped around it yet, but I would love to hear your thoughts....