GENESIS

JOSEPH

Joseph in Egypt
Joseph Reconciles with His Brothers

Genesis 45:1-28

INTRODUCTION

Whatever else the story of Joseph is about, it is primarily about reconciliation. It's hard to see a situation in which a person could be as wounded as Joseph was and yet that person be willing to reconcile with the ones who wounded him. Yet that is what the story of Joseph is about, and for all practical purposes it is the central story of the Bible, reconciliation between God and man, and between man and man.

Reconciliation between you and another person is NOT optional. As a Christian you don't have the right to hold onto grievances. If you have wronged somebody, then Jesus says YOU are responsible to seek reconciliation with that person. Not every person will be willing to reconcile, but so far as it depends upon YOU, YOU be at peace with all people (Rom. 12:18). On the other hand, if you have been wronged by another person, it is YOUR responsibility to try to reconcile with that person (Matt. 18:15-17). It is always the CHRISTIAN'S responsibility to initiate reconciliation. Why? Because the central defining event of Christianity is the cross, the place where God reconciled us to Himself and ourselves to others. Christ says that the person who fails to reconcile with his enemy faces dire consequences from God in the end (Matt. 6:14-15). (In case that passage does not impress you, read Matt. 18:23-35, one of the longest parables in the Bible which says that your willingness to forgive or your unwillingness to forgive will determine your eternal destiny. Remember that God the Son uttered this parable; it should be taken seriously. He will.)

JOSEPH REVEALS HIMSELF TO HIS 11 BROTHERS (45:1-15)

It's been 22 years since his 10 older brothers sold Joseph into slavery. Much in the Joseph stories indicates that Joseph deeply loved his brothers. With the exception of Benjamin he was the youngest brother of the 12. Naturally he would have looked up to his 10 older brothers. For this reason we see him crying out in great pain when he feels that they have betrayed him by throwing him in the pit to die. Only those you love can deeply wound you. For this reason even after he has been exalted to second-in-command of all Egypt, when he has the chance to inform his family that he is alive and well, he does not do so because he fears that nothing has changed between him and his brothers. Even when the brothers finally show up, he is still so unsure of them that he must test them first before he decides to embrace them once more. He operates out of the old saying: "Once burned, shame on you; twice burned, shame on me."

In the test Joseph places the 10 brothers right back into the same situation they were 22 years earlier. He was giving them a golden opportunity to rid themselves once and for all of another one of the favored Rachel's sons. Just like they stood to benefit financially when they got rid of Joseph, so the 10 brothers now stand to benefit by gaining freedom if they abandon Benjamin. Little do the 10 realize what is at stake here. Benjamin and Jacob are going to be well taken care of. Their response to this test will determine though what will happen to them ultimately. Will they enjoy the best of Egypt or be sent back to die in famine-stricken Canaan? By abandoning Benjamin, instead of choosing freedom, they will actually be choosing death.

With the exception of the cross, what happens next is the greatest scene of reconciliation in the entire Bible. Judah representing the 10 brothers passes the test supremely. Judah, the ancestor of Jesus who sacrifices Himself for others, actually offers to sacrifice himself for Benjamin's sake and also for Jacob's sake. At this point Joseph cannot control himself any longer. It's like the dam of his heart which has held back all the hurt and longing he feels for his family finally breaks wide open. He just can't control himself any longer.

Joseph, fully aware that he is head of a great nation, orders all the Egyptians out of the room. Joseph probably realizes that what happens next might offend all the political sensitivities of the Egyptians. Moreover, what happens next is so powerful that it is to be experienced only by people who have an intimate relationship with each other. Joseph cries out: "I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?"

At this point Moses writes that the brothers simply don't know how to respond. One moment they think that they are at the point of death at worst, enslavement at best, and then all of a sudden they realize that their tormentor is actually the brother they sold into slavery 22 years earlier. Their first thoughts were probably that Joseph would now have his final revenge by executing the 10. They are speechless. Joseph persists though and encourages them to come closer to him so that they can see for themselves that he is indeed Joseph: "I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt." (That last statement probably did not calm their fears.)

Next follows one of the greatest theological statements in the entire Bible about the providence of God: "And now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here!; for God sent me before you to preserve life . . . And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. . . . it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt."

Three thoughts really stand out in this passage. First, Joseph claims that even though the brothers meant to harm Joseph, God used what they did for good. He goes even further: "You meant it for evil; God meant it for good." Does this mean that the brothers are off the hook? Not really. To be sure, Joseph is not going to harm them; however, now that Joseph is alive and talkative, they can no longer lie to their father that a wild beast killed Joseph. They are finally going to have to face up to their dad and admit what they did to Joseph 22 years earlier. Only then will all this come to rest.

Because God used what they did for good, does this mean that what the brothers did was not really evil? No. Simply because something good comes out of the event does not mean that the event was good. What they did was evil. The truth is that God's goodness is so great that evil cannot defeat it. The fact is that God's goodness is so powerful and creative that it can take the evil men do and use it for great good.

I experienced this once in a relationship I had with a former supervisor. The church was declining in numbers. In staff meeting my supervisor asked a serious question and I answered him seriously. He didn't like the answer I gave him. I had answered honestly and respectfully; yet that was not good enough for him. I realized at that moment that I needed to go minister at another church. From that point on he continually would criticize me or talk down about me. Now I loved that church. I had so many friends there; yet I knew that relationship with my supervisor was over. Since he was the supervisor, I knew that I was the one who had to leave.

What happened next was wonderful. God sent me to a church to develop a ministry which most ministers would die for. It was great to see the number of young people saved, the number involved in Bible study and prayer, the number which attended not only Sunday morning worship but also Sunday evening worship. It was truly a great ministry. From a human perspective it would never have happened though if my supervisor had not acted the way he acted. God used what he did for great good in my life and for great good in the life of many young people.

The second major concept is that of "remnant." From this point on the idea of remnant runs throughout the rest of the Bible. Eventually only a remnant, only a portion of the Jews, will actually follow God. For example, in the days of Elijah out of a country of a million+ only a remnant of 5,000 people will remain faithful to the Lord. Paul declares that of all the millions of Jews living in the world, he is a part of a remnant of the Jews which has accepted Jesus and truly remained God's people. Moreover, the church is thought of as the remnant.

The idea of remnant means 2 things: first, not all people will follow the true God and second, there will always be a people of God upon the earth. The first statement tells us that we should NOT be surprised when the vast majority of people reject Jesus. People on a wholesale level have never accepted God; only the remnant has. We should be more worried when "God" and Jesus are popular than when they are not. When Jesus says there are 4 types of people, He says that only 1 out of the 4 is truly good soil (the parable of the sower).

The flip side to the idea of the remnant is that whereas not all people will come to God, the truth is that the idea of the remnant means that there will always be a people of God upon the earth. The number may not be great, but it will never be zero. In fact one of the reasons God stops the tribulation at the end of time is to make sure that His people are not wiped off the face of the earth (Matt. 24:22). Why will there always be a remnant? Because God will make sure that there is always a Joseph around to save His people.

The third idea is that of deliverance, or salvation. Throughout the rest of Genesis we have seen glimpses of salvation (Noah and the flood, Abraham and the blessing), but not as pronounced as here in the stories of Joseph. Joseph uses his exalted status to save the people of God. From this point on salvation and deliverance become a huge concept in the Bible. Moses will save his people from the Egyptian hordes; Deborah will save the nation of Israel from the Canaanites; David will save the united kingdom from her enemies, etc. Whereas all this climaxes with the ultimate salvation that Christ brings, the concept of salvation really begins with the story of Joseph. From this point on, although God may use other people to accomplish His salvation, He is ultimately going to be known as Savior.

JOSEPH SENDS FOR JACOB AND HIS FAMILY (45:16-28)

Joseph has wept so loud over the reconciliation that news of his emotional outpouring has reached the ears of Pharaoh. In response Pharaoh encourages the 11 brothers to return to Egypt with their father and families, and enjoy the "best" of the land. Joseph goes even further and provides them with food and clothes. Since Benjamin is his only full brother, he showers him with 300 shekels of silver (a princely sum for that day in time) plus five changes of clothes. He informs the brothers that they are to return with their family and not to worry about bringing back any of their possessions since Joseph will provide for them completely from the "best" of the land. As he sends them back to Canaan to retrieve their father and families, Joseph urges them not to quarrel among themselves.

At first blush this seems like a strange instruction; yet remember that their father Jacob thinks that Joseph is dead because some wild beast has devoured him. Now they have to face their father with the truth. Joseph did not die; some wild beast did not kill him. Joseph was sold into Egyptian slavery because THEY had sold him. Who was going to bear the brunt of the blame? Surely not Reuben since he had wanted to free him from the pit from the very start. Judah most likely was going to have to confess. [Judgment comes for us all, whether during our present lifetime or at the end of time on judgment day. It's not a matter of "if" judgment is coming but of "when" (see 1 Tim. 5:24-25).]

When they return to Jacob though, there is really no need to mention what happened originally to Joseph--at least not yet. They return with the news that Joseph instead of being dead is ALIVE! When they report this to Jacob, he can't believe his ears. For 22 long years he has grieved over Joseph; this news is just simply too good to be true. It's beyond his wildest dreams; however, the 10 donkeys which bear abundant provisions from Joseph and the 10 female mules which bear grain testify to the fact that their words are true, that Joseph is indeed second-in-command of all Egypt. Jacob declares that he can now rest in peace with his fathers because he will be able to see Joseph at least for one last time. Jacob heads for Egypt to spend out his remaining days being cared for by Joseph.

FINAL THOUGHT

Before leaving this chapter, look at all the references to abundance. The brothers receive new clothes; Benjamin, 5 changes of clothes plus money. Joseph sends with the brothers 10 female mules loaded with grain and 10 donkeys loaded with the riches of Egypt. Joseph is showering the wealth and abundance of Egypt upon his family with whom he is now reconciled.

The key thought here is that the abundance came along with reconciliation. If they had not been reconciled to Joseph, then the 10 older brothers would have never experienced the abundance Joseph wanted to shower upon them. The problem lay NOT with Joseph but with the 10 brothers. Once they got right with God and with Joseph, the storehouses of Egypt poured out its wealth upon them.

In the same way God desires to pour out His wealth and abundance upon His sons and daughters. Whenever the Bible describes the coming of God, it speaks of it in terms of abundance: overflowing wine (Isaiah 25:6), a feast (Matt. 8:11), a wedding banquet (John 2:1-11; Rev. 19:7-10).

It is staggering when you think about how abounding in riches our heavenly Father truly is. We look at the wealth of the earth, and yet that earth is just one small speck in the entire universe. It is no telling how wealthy the universe alone is. And yet our heavenly Father dwarfs the universe. Rev. 21-22 does the best it can in describing the glory of God's new city, the heavenly Jerusalem, and yet it fails miserably short. The wealth of heaven is so great that even the streets are paved with gold.

As wonderful as descriptions are, they apply only to those who have been reconciled with God and with others through Jesus Christ. We can get a taste of how wonderful reconciliation is here on earth; however, the full experience of the benefits of that reconciliation lies in the future. Those benefits though are directly linked to reconciliation. If you are NOT reconciled with God or with somebody right now, NOW is the time to reconcile. Not when it may be too late.