Genesis 45
1Joseph could stand it no longer. “Out, all of you!” he cried out to his attendants. He wanted to be alone with his brothers when he told them who he was. 2Then he broke down and wept aloud. His sobs could be heard throughout the palace, and the news was quickly carried to Pharaoh’s palace.
3“I am Joseph!” he said to his brothers. “Is my father still alive?” But his brothers were speechless! They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in front of them. 4“Come over here,” he said. So they came closer. And he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother whom you sold into Egypt. 5But don’t be angry with yourselves that you did this to me, for God did it. He sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. 6These two years of famine will grow to seven, during which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7God has sent me here to keep you and your families alive so that you will become a great nation. 8Yes, it was God who sent me here, not you! And he has made me a counselor to Pharaoh—manager of his entire household and ruler over all Egypt.
9“Hurry, return to my father and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me master over all the land of Egypt. Come down to me right away! 10You will live in the land of Goshen so you can be near me with all your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all that you have. 11I will take care of you there, for there are still five years of famine ahead of us. Otherwise you and your household will come to utter poverty.’”
12Then Joseph said, “You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that I really am Joseph! 13Tell my father how I am honored here in Egypt. Tell him about everything you have seen, and bring him to me quickly.” 14Weeping with joy, he embraced Benjamin, and Benjamin also began to weep. 15Then Joseph kissed each of his brothers and wept over them, and then they began talking freely with him. (Genesis 45:1-15, NLT)
The Daily DAVEotional
The story of Joseph is one of the classic tales in Scripture. Sold into slavery by his brothers, who were jealous of him because of Jacob’s partiality towards him, Joseph found himself serving Potiphar, who was the captain of Pharaoh’s palace guard.
Joseph was blessed in everything he did and that garnered him much favor from his master, Potiphar.
But Potiphar’s wife had eyes for Joseph, who was apparently a very handsome specimen. She makes a sexual advance towards Joseph that is firmly rebuffed. To cope with her own anger and embarrassment of rejection, she accuses Joseph of attempted rape.
Joseph lands in prison where his administrative skills are noticed by the chief jailer, who wisely puts Joseph in charge. A prisoner himself, Joseph ends up running the entire prison system.
Joseph correctly interprets the dreams of two exiled servants of Pharaoh and when the chief cupbearer is restored to his position as Joseph had predicted, he promptly forgot all about Joseph. I wrote about this specific situation in my posts “Alone and Forgotten” and also “The Prisoner and the Cupbearer.”
So Joseph continued to languish in prison for another two years.
If anyone had a reason to be bitter and angry, it was Joseph. He was the victim of circumstances beyond his control. He had been betrayed by his own brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused, imprisoned, abandoned and forgotten.
Finally, through a series of miraculous circumstances, Joseph finds himself second in command to Pharaoh himself. God had revealed to him that a famine was coming that, without adequate preparation, would completely devastate the nation of Egypt. Joseph was the architect and became the administrator of a bold relief operation designed to weather the coming famine and save the nation.
The famine indeed comes and is so widespread that it affects those living in Canaan as well. With food resources dwindling, Jacob learns that there is grain for sale in Egypt and he sends his sons to Egypt to buy grain for their family.
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When Joseph’s brothers arrive in Egypt to buy grain, they don’t recognize this man who is in charge. With his position of power, Joseph has the authority to make life extremely difficult for his brothers who had wronged him so grievously years before.
If it were a Hollywood movie, this is the moment where Joseph’s years of pent-up fury would be unleashed and there would be some serious payback.
But Joseph takes a different approach. For a few chapters we see Joseph testing his brothers. In today’s vernacular, we might say that he’s “messing with them.”
Finally, in this chapter, he can keep the ruse up no longer. He breaks down and reveals his identity.
“I am Joseph.”
His brothers are stunned. Is it true? How is it possible that the man in charge, the one who has been both kind and demanding is their brother Joseph?
Joseph reveals more than his identity though. He also reveals his character. He has the power to make life extremely difficult for his brothers. They betrayed him. They sold him into slavery for a pittance and Joseph has since faced a life of hardship and turmoil, completely separated from everyone he has ever known or loved. Every struggle and hardship Joseph has experienced in his adult life can be directly traced back to that one event when his brothers sold him to a group of foreign traders who happened to be passing by.
That’s a recipe for vengeance. Think about it – John Wick became an entire movie franchise and cinematic universe when some bad people killed his dog. How much worse to be sold into slavery and abandoned by your own family?
But Joseph doesn’t make that choice; he takes a different path. He immediately forgives his brothers and tells them that this was all part of God’s plan. Sensing his brother’s fear and anxiety, Joseph repeatedly reassures his brothers not to blame themselves because everything that has happened to him was God’s doing:
But don’t be angry with yourselves that you did this to me, for God did it. (verse 5)
He [God] sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. (verse 5)
God has sent me here to keep you and your families alive so that you will become a great nation. (verse 7)
Yes, it was God who sent me here, not you! (verse 8)
Joseph experienced some of the most tragic abuses one can imagine, and yet he recognized that God was orchestrating events and had a plan for him.
Instead of devolving into bitterness and anger, Joseph chose faithfulness, which ultimately led to fruitfulness.
How do I respond when things don’t go the way that I want them to? Do I blame others? The lesson of Joseph is to remain faithful despite the circumstances, which for him included betrayal, slavery, abandonment imprisonment and an attack on his character.
Like Joseph, I need to be faithful regardless of what situation I am in and regardless of how I got in that situation, knowing that God can use those circumstances for His glory and His purposes.
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Reflection
What are some things that have happened in your life that were not a result of your own doing? In what ways have you been wronged by others?
How are you doing in your response to those events? How have you made sense of those events?
What makes it hard to forgive others when things happen that negatively impact you?
What lessons can you learn from Joseph that might help you to make sense of the “senseless” things that occur in life?
Joseph recognized that all the things that happened to him were God’s doing and he was able to remain faithful in all of the different circumstances he was placed. How would you rate your own ability to be faithful in the midst of negative circumstances? Are you able to acknowledge God’s sovereignty even when bad things happen? Why or why not?
Image: “Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers” by Gustave Doré (1866). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.