Genesis 45:1-28
Joseph Revealed to His Brothers
1 Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Make everyone go out from me!” So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it.
3 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph; does my father still live?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. 4 And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8 So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
9 “Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph: “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not tarry. 10 You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children’s children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have. 11 There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine.“‘
12 “And behold, your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my mouth that speaks to you. 13 So you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen; and you shall hurry and bring my father down here.”
14 Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. 15 Moreover he kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him.
16 Now the report of it was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, “Joseph’s brothers have come.” So it pleased Pharaoh and his servants well. 17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and depart; go to the land of Canaan. 18 Bring your father and your households and come to me; I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land. 19 Now you are commanded—do this: Take carts out of the land of Egypt for your little ones and your wives; bring your father and come. 20 Also do not be concerned about your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”
21 Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them carts, according to the command of Pharaoh, and he gave them provisions for the journey. 22 He gave to all of them, to each man, changes of garments; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of garments. 23 And he sent to his father these things: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and food for his father for the journey. 24 So he sent his brothers away, and they departed; and he said to them, “See that you do not become troubled along the way.”
25 Then they went up out of Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father. 26 And they told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt.” And Jacob’s heart stood still, because he did not believe them. 27 But when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived. 28 Then Israel said, “It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”
The LORD God sent Joseph into slavery in Egypt by the hands of his jealous and vengeful brothers for a purpose. It was to save them from starvation and destruction as a people chosen by Him for His glory. When Joseph had all his siblings before him at last and heard how losing Benjamin would be the death of their father, he chose that moment as the big reveal of his identity and God’s plan through all these events. He cleared the room of all servants first so what he said would be first heard as a family moment. He blurted out that he was their lost brother Joseph and in the same breath asked how his father was doing, if he still lived. They were speechless with nervous and anxious fear because they knew what they did to almost murder their brother and then sell his off as a slave, never to be seen again. They did not imagine that he was still living, just as Joseph wondered about his father. He told them not to be hard on themselves because God had orchestrated it all! He had brought Joseph to Egypt and risen him to power as his dream had forewarned to send him there before them to preserve their lives (Genesis 50:19-20). He conveyed the circumstances of the famine crisis and the way through it as a deliverance to save their lives for a posterity of their people under God. This is also spiritually true for his completed people in Christ (Philippians 1:6, 2 Timothy 4:18, 2 Peter 2:9) who are kept by the power of God (1 Peter 1:4-5) until Jesus returns to judge the world (Acts 17:31) in righteousness and lead His chosen children into the eternal deliverance from His wrath on our sin just as Jesus has already delivered us from our bondage to it. He told them to go back home and tell of the glory of God’s plan to raise his son to power in Egypt and to bring everything back to Egypt to be delivered from the death of starvation just as God had arranged and told them through his dreams before his being sold into slavery. They rejoiced together and Pharaoh heard the great news and told him to send his brothers to bring back their father and they would be given the best of the land as an inheritance. Joseph sent them on their mission with plenty of supplies and the good news of their deliverance! This is as a picture of our deliverance received by the gospel as God’s plan for His chosen people appointed before time began (2 Timothy 1:9, Titus 1:2-3)! Joseph at first did not believe the good news, but when he saw the evidence he trusted and began the journey to the place of their deliverance, just as we see the evidence of changed lives and follow into the promised land of the kingdom to come (Hebrews 11:16, 12:22, 28, 2 Timothy 4:18) with the evidence of faith (Hebrews 11:1) set before us. No matter the tribulation we endure in this life, we have the certainty of the promises and assurance of faith in the substance of God’s word of faithfulness. We therefore endure all things for the sake of the elect (2 Timothy 2:10, 4:5) and their deliverance. God Sends Suffering to Save us, delivering us from the consequences and eternal suffering of sin.
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