Joseph's secret plan

so I've been teaching through the book of Genesis with our high school students.
Which inevitably lead to the life of Joseph. I'm sure this concept is not new because I agree with Solomon that there is nothing new under the sun. It's a concept that made something that seemed inconsistent in the story flow a lot easier.

In chapters 42,43 and 44 it looks like Joseph uses deception in order to "pay back" his brothers for what they did to him. It looks like he came up with a plan to watch them squirm and sweat for the lies that they had perpetuated over the last 20 or more years.
As I work through the story as a story there was nothing within Joseph's character seem to indicate that he would do such a thing. There seems to be plenty of opportunities within his story for him to be vengeful, retaliatory, bitter, but there is no indication that any of that ever occurred. So going with what I could clearly see
this is what I came up with. (I'm sure I did come up with it I read an awful lot of stuff and I have a feeling or brain just kind of put it together in a way that made sense to me)

I don't think Joseph saw his brothers and specifically accuse them of spying in order to get back at them. I know that he gets credit for it and I believe because he was the man in charge. Jewish writings indicate that the brothers were accused of spying by Egyptians who had observed all of them coming in to the country and spreading out into the various cities looking for food.
These writings seem to indicate it was their behavior in the cities that made them appear to be spies and brought before Joseph in order to be judged.
If that is true then Joseph showed amazing/God-given creativity. He not only was able to save his brothers but also rescue the family. He needed a way that the brothers could come and go out of Egypt and obtain food without being suspected. He also wanted proof that the ones who had sold him into slavery had done the same thing to his youngest brother.
His plan allowed the Egyptians to be satisfied that justice would be done, and the brothers could be proved innocent.

I have no doubt Joseph expected a quick return for two reasons, one to prove their innocence, and two to retrieve Simon who was imprisoned while they were gone.
dysfunctional family dynamics kept that from happening or probably close to a year.

When they returned he was able to see that his "real" brother Benjamin was fine, and that his father was still alive. He was able to provide both grain and money to the family. And creatively brought about a situation that would give him another opportunity to have them return and see him specifically so that he could continue to get news of the family.

I don't think he needed to reveal himself and I'm not completely convinced he ever planned on it.

So when the brothers returned after being accused of stealing the cup from Joseph's table his plan was broken down by the impassioned plea from Judah. Judah had been the one that pulled him up out of the hole/dry well in the desert and had sold Joseph into slavery.
Emotions were so intense Joseph broke down and revealed who he was. Then he called for all those connected to his brothers, their families, and his father to return so he could provide what God had clearly designed him to provide.

In the end forgiveness ruled and God was glorified.
It fits better in my mind than retribution and payback from Joseph.

Just a thought