“The Joy of Restoration.”
Joseph had tested his brothers by framing Benjamin and allowing his other brothers to go free if they so chose. How the other brothers reacted is not stated, but the fact that all the brothers returned (vs. 13) seems to indicate that they were united in their commitment to their father and to Benjamin. Judah’s intervention on their behalf showed the great love he had for his father and the loyalty he had to Benjamin. It also demonstrated that the brothers were not willing to repeat the act they had committed against Joseph many years before. They were not perfect, but they were showing signs of repentance and change. The urgent pleas by Judah on behalf of Benjamin and his father caused Joseph to break emotionally. Unable to restrain himself any longer, Joseph ordered his attendants out and revealed his true identity to his brothers: I am Joseph! Is my father still living? What a shock! He disclosed his identity in an atmosphere of such intense emotion that his household heard the weeping by Joseph and reported to Pharaoh’s household. All the gracious and generous treatment by Joseph was forgotten. Their minds could not comprehend what this revelation might mean since all they apparently could remember now was their brutal treatment of him. Joseph repeated his assertion that he was their brother Joseph. This time he added, the one you sold into Egypt. But this was done for confirmation purposes only. He went on to assure them that they were not to be distressed or angry with themselves for selling him into slavery, because Joseph had settled the circumstances both personally and theologically. He realized that it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. Four times he would state that God was behind the events of his life. Joseph also revealed to his brothers the knowledge he had that the present famine would last for another five years. His brothers were reassured again that Joseph harbored no ill will toward them. He believed that God had overruled their evil plan in order to guarantee that the family of Israel would survive. He urged them to bring their father Jacob back with them and to make plans to live in Egypt. Joseph, in anticipation of his brothers’ repentance, had already made plans for where they could live (Goshen) so they could be near him. In order to encourage Jacob to make the move, even at his advanced age, he was to be told about the honor bestowed to Joseph in Egypt. Part of the Abrahamic covenant, especially the promise of a great name, was being fulfilled in Jacob’s son Joseph, because God has made me lord of all Egypt.
Embracing first his brother Benjamin and then all the brothers, Joseph then kissed them all and wept for joy. Afterward his brothers talked with him, and Joseph explained his unbelievable journey of the last twenty-two years. Oh that Christians today would understand that there is such joy in humble reconciliation among brothers.
Personal Prayer Requests:
- Lord, please help me to always be willing to forgive those who wrong me, and to trust you in every circumstance of life.
- Lord, please help me to lovingly bring people to humble acknowledgement of wrong doing, but always be quick to forgive.
- Lord, thank you for being a forgiving and patient God. May I model your character.