Joseph Provides for His Brothers and Family 45 Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, “Make everyone go out from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. 3 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. 4 So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over 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 me, you and your children and your children's children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11 There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.’ 12 And now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth that speaks to you. 13 You must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.” 14 Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. After that his brothers talked with him. 16 When the report was heard in Pharaoh's house, “Joseph's brothers have come,” it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. 17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan, 18 and take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.’ 19 And you, Joseph, are commanded to say, ‘Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. 20 Have no concern for your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’” 21 The sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. 22 To each and all of them he gave a change of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five changes of clothes. 23 To his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey. 24 Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way.” 25 So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. 26 And they told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. 27 But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28 And Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.” Joseph finally breaks down and tells his brothers of his identity. The Egyptians are in awe at Joseph's weeping and the sons of Israel are in shock and unable to speak when Joseph tries to inquire about the health and well-being of Jacob. They fear that Joseph will take vengeance out on them and their families for what they did to him so many years ago, yet one of the greatest teachings of God's providence and sovreignty lies in the verses here in this chapter, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. " (Gen. 45:4-8)
He tells them to come to Goshen, even before he speaks to Pharaoh about this knowing that he can get the best land of Egypt for his father's flocks and herds and that all of the house of Israel can be taken care of for the next five years of famine that are to come. He tells them to bring all of their families with them and their father--all of their children and grandchildren--and he embraces and weeps with each of them starting with his brother Benjamin. Word finally reached Pharaoh (because there was no way of hiding it due to Joseph's outburst of emotions) that Joseph's brothers were in Egypt, and it pleased the Pharaoh to welcome them and treat them like dignitaries. Pharaoh tells Joseph to order his family to come to Egypt so that Egypt can provide for them and orders Joseph to send along wagons from Egypt for the elderly and little ones that could not possibly walk through the desert to make the journey and to transport all of their valuables (though Pharaoh told them to "pack light" because he would take care of them), and that they would be given the best land and the best food--nothing good would be withheld from them. Joseph did as Pharaoh asked and sent his brothers on their way, each with a new change of clothes and provisions for the journey and he also gave his brother Benjamin 300 shekels of silver and five changes of clothes--this time no one should question why favoritism was being shown to Benjamin. Instead of Jacob sending Joseph the best that the land of Canaan had to offer (remember when they took gifts to Joseph the second trip?), Joseph sends 10 donkeys to his father laden with the best gifts that Egypt had to offer--a sign that Egypt was more than ready to take care of him and his entire family. And he sent another 10 female donkeys laden with grain, bread and provisions for his father's journey back to Egypt. Then I love Joseph's final instructions to his brothers just to remind them how well he knows the, "Do not quarrel on the way." The brothers return to their father and their good news must come with a time of confession for what they had done so many years ago. Jacob's heart cannot believe it at first until he sees all the gifts that Joseph has sent and he says "It is enough"--he believed what he saw and he said, "My son Joseph is alive. I will go and see him before I die." This chapter gives us a small picture of how God intends to provide for us. We don't need to worry about anything because everything will be taken care of by God the Father since we are brothers and sisters of Jesus through His blood. God will not withhold anything good from us because He would not withhold anything good from His Son. And God has prepared the way to take care of his covenant people--even using a pagan king to do so--to protect his people not only from the famine, but from the wickedness of the Canaanites. Jacob would be reuinited with his long-lost son Joseph and would get to see his grandchildren from Joseph--Manasseh and Ephraim, and Joseph and Benjamin (and the other brothers too) would get to spend as much time together as they wanted and redeem the time that had been lost. Even in all this though, Joseph remembers to point his brother's eyes back to God to say it is He who made the way and is providing for them.
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Daniel WestfallI will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others. Archives
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