"And Reuben answered them, saying, spake I not unto you, saying, do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required. And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter. And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes"
(Genesis 42:22-25).

Joseph exercised forgiveness, patience, and toleration
(however Simeon was jailed a second time
Joseph's brothers thought that what was happening to them was a punishment from God to them for what they did to Joseph many years earlier. Why did they think that? Because they felt guilty and because they knew that every sin has a consequence or more. Were they sorry for what they had done to Joseph? Reuben had tried to do the right thing then and Reuben was trying to do the right thing at their present time.

Simeon, an unstable trouble maker, might have been a brother who was unrepentant as he stood before Joseph. Joseph knew what Simeon was saying in Hebrew. Simeon might have been saying: "I am glad for what I did to Joseph years before. I am not going to go along with the rest of you. I am going to get a sword and kill these Egyptians". He might have been angry, rebellious, unteachable, and unruly. There seems to be one in every large crowd. Joseph exercised much patience, toleration, and forgiveness in regards to his brothers. But, Joseph decided to "let Simeon cool his heels" (place him in jail) for three days, along with his other brothers, in order to make him and the others conform to Joseph's will. Maybe Simeon complained the most or was the loudest. There is an old saying: "the squeaky wheel gets the grease". But, in his case, he got sent back to jail a second time. Someone else came up with a similar saying: "the squeaky wheel gets the axe". Sometimes, God has to get our willful cooperation before He can carry out His plan for our life.

One time there was an old stubborn mule who had a will of his own. A young boy went to the mule and tried to get it to move to plow his field but the mule refused to move. The old farmer, who owned the mule, had a wood board that had a sharp nail sticking through it. The farmer picked up the board and showed it to the mule. The mule put his ears back and began to move. The boy was able to get his entire field plowed and asked the farmer why that board did the trick with the mule. The farmer laughed and said: "I believe in applying the board of education to the seat of learning and the mule knows that!"

Let us discuss Simeon a little more. What did Simeon do while Joseph was observing him for three days in jail? We are not told, however, he might have been screaming, cussing, threatening to kill his jailer, throwing his food back at the jailer, or acting some other way that brought him into disfavor with the Egyptians.

Why did Joseph humiliate Simeon by having him tied up in front of his brothers? My guess is that it was Simeon who humiliated Joseph twenty years earlier by tying him up so he could be sold by Judah to the slave traders. I imagine that Simeon had a few words of hatred and violence to tell Joseph while he tied him up and stripped him of his cherished coat of many colors. The memory of those words and actions may have replayed over and over in Joseph's mind for twenty years.

Simeon might have been the one who wanted to murder Joseph twenty years earlier. Why? Because Simeon was the angry one. In my opinion, a consistently angry person, many times, will have a criminal past that he or she is trying to conceal. Simeon helped murder the men of Shalem City- he was a killer at heart, so it is logical to accuse him of the attempted murder of Joseph. That could be the reason why Joseph had him put into prison
(Genesis 42:24). Joseph gave him a criminal record there at that time. Later, Simeon was probably put on probation in Egypt and placed under surveillance there for the rest of his natural life. He was warned that he would be executed if he ever committed any murder in Egypt.

Simeon was held in jail as surety (a guarantee) that Benjamin would be delivered. And if Benjamin was delayed in coming, then Simeon would spend more time in jail. Did Joseph make his imprisonment as easy as possible? I doubt if Simeon was fed bread and water.

Where is the line drawn between vengeance and justice? I will let you decide that answer for yourself. Joseph was faced with a choice- should he forgive his brothers or should he execute vengeance on them? Joseph acted like Jesus- Joseph was a very Christ-like person. Joseph made the right choice- he forgave his brothers. There is a message here for you and me. Jesus stated: "...for if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses"
(Matthew 6:14-15). "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, "I say not unto thee, until seven times: but, until seventy times seven"
(Matthew 18:21-22).