Recall that in the last chapter, Joseph had tricked his brothers by putting their money back into their bags, and putting his special cup into Benjamin's. He had told them that he was going to keep Benjamin as a slave because of what he had done, but then Judah had tried to take Benjamin's place.
So now, Joseph can't stand it any more. He tells all the Egyptians in his house to leave him with the Hebrew men.
Once they are alone, Joseph starts crying, and he tells them that he is Joseph.
Naturally, his brothers are very disturbed. Perhaps they think that they are being tricked, but wondering how this man knew about Joseph. Perhaps they believe him, but they know that he is the most powerful man in Egypt and could have the executed on the spot. Perhaps they feel bad, knowing they had lied to him about what had happened to their other brother, and now they know that he knew they were lying. No matter the reason, they were incredibly disturbed and bewildered.
Joseph asks about his father, but his brothers don't really answer, they just stand back, away from him.
Joseph tells them to come near him, which they of course do.
He tells them that he is Joseph, the brother they sold as a slave into Egypt, but he doesn't want them to be alarmed or upset or angry with themselves, because God had brought Joseph to Egypt for a purpose.
He tells them that for the two years of the famine so far, he has been taking care of the people, feeding them. He tells them he knows that there are still five more years of famine, but he can take care of them and his father, because he has stored up food.
He says that God had sent him to Egypt so that he could preserve the line of his father, so thy would not die, or fall into poverty.
He tells them to go back to their home and get their father, tell him what happened and bring him to the land of Goshen, where he can live in peace and comfort for the rest of his life.
He tells them to tell their father of the things that Joseph has in Egypt, that he is a rich and powerful man.
The Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh hears about what was going on in Joseph's house. Pharaoh is very pleased to hear that Joseph's brothers have come to Egypt (remember, the Pharaoh favors Joseph and is probably his close friend). He tells them to take wagons from Egypt and take them with them when they go get their father, so they can use the wagons to put their families in when they bring them back. He tells them that they shall eat from the food stored in Egypt.
Joseph gives each of his brothers a change of clothes (that is a big deal back then because most people did not have more than one outfit), but he gave Benjamin 300 pieces of silver and 5 changes of clothes. Benjamin was his only full-blooded brother, and he had had nothing to do with selling Joseph into Egypt.
They send the brothers with provisions and they leave to go and get their father and their families.
When the arrive home, they tell their father about what had happened (imagine the dread they must have felt when they had to tell their father that they had not only sold his favorite son as a slave to Egypt, but on top of that, they had been lying to him all these years about what really happened. They can't exactly keep up their farce if they are going to tell him where Joseph is, what can they say? "Oh yeah, he must have come back to life after those animals ripped him to shreds, and now he is in Egypt where he is going to save the lives of his entire family." Yeah, I don't think so.).
Jacob doesn't believe them at first. He probably think that he has demons for sons and they are just playing a horribly cruel joke on him.
But then he sees the wagons from Egypt, the extra clothes, the food, all the things they brought back with them, and his heart is enlightened.
I imagine that this old man was probably dancing with joy because his son, the one he had loved so much, they one that he had never gotten over, is still alive.
He tells his boys that he is going to Egypt, so that he can see Joseph's face again before he dies.
I hope that this has been exactly what you needed to hear today. I hope that throughout your day, every time that something feels too hard to handle, you think about Joseph's story. I hope that you think about how God brought Joseph to Egypt for a purpose, just as everything in your life that happens has a purpose. I hope you think about the joy of Joseph's father on hearing that his son was still alive and remember that joyful things can come out of even the most dire of situations.
I hope your day has been uplifted, just as Jacob's was when his sons returned with the news that Joseph was alive.
Cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment