Genesis Chapter 45

Joseph Reveals Himself – And God’s Divine Purpose

We are now privileged to see, through the revealing lens of the Holy Spirit, the Divine Plan of our All Knowing Creator God, as the Eternal Plan of God is revealed to us through the corridors of times past. God ALWAYS knows everything, past, present and future. He carefully plans all events to bring about His Perfect Eternal Plan, which is far above and beyond anything we can imagine or even understand. Yet, we are given a rare glimpse of one of the most Prophetic and important events in all of history that actually begins the establishment of the Israelites as the Jewish Nation. These chosen people bring us the Scriptures and Prophecy of the coming Messiah. They will continue to exist and be a part of the First and Second coming of the Savior and Lord of the Universe for all Eternity ~ YESHUA! (Jesus, in English.) As we study and pray about these events, look for insights into your own life; how Jesus has orchestrated and used, even the painful and difficult trials and tests of your own life, to bring you into a deeper and closer personal relationship with Him. Pray to understand and apply the Truths that the Holy Spirit is revealing to your heart and soul.

45:1-3

As Joseph commands, in a loud voice, to all the Egyptian men around him and in his household to leave him alone with the Hebrew men; all of them immediately obey him and leave him totally alone with his brothers. Joseph cannot restrain himself as he now speaks to his brothers in Hebrew. Weeping and sobbing uncontrollably; as he reveals to them who he REALLY is, their long ago, presumed dead, brother, Joseph. We are told that the entire household hears his sobbing and weeping, and that even the Pharaoh hears about it! Notice that his first question to his brothers regards his father, whom he loves dearly, “Is MY father still alive?” Joseph understands the importance of sacred values and Eternal relationships. Are you aware of Eternal values and relationships? Joseph is keenly aware of God’s guidance and direction for himself and all the house of Israel. Keep in mind that he would now be approximately 39 years old, so it has been 22 years since he has seen, or even heard from, his beloved father. His deep concern and love for his beloved father, Jacob, clearly shows through. Yet his brothers are so shocked and distressingly disturbed at this realization and confrontation, that they are unable to even speak. It would be like ‘one from the dead’ has suddenly been revealed to them! We can be certain that all their emotions of guilt, sorrow, repentance, grief, fear, disbelief, shock and who knows what else, is causing their minds and hearts to have great difficulty in processing the Truth that is being presented to them by Joseph, that he is, indeed, alive and well and now the Ruler of Egypt! Nearly this same reaction, and more because they had seen Him die, would have been experienced by the Apostles and Disciples of Jesus when He appeared to them after His resurrection from the dead!

45:4-5

Now Joseph has his brothers come close to him and he reveals the Truth that he is their brother, Joseph, whom they sold as a slave into Egypt. Remember, ONLY the brothers knew this terrible Truth about what REALLY happened to Joseph! He tells them this so that they will not doubt for a moment that he truly is Joseph, their long lost brother. But now… This tells us there is a revealing of something they do not know; that they are forgiven and should not be distressed, disheartened, grieved or angry with themselves, for God was in control! Joseph tells them that God sent him ahead of all of them in order to preserve their very lives and existence as a people. This preservation of life also involved the preservation of the Egyptian Nation.

45:6-7

As Joseph continues to reveal God’s prophetic plan, of telling them there are five more years of this great famine, where there will be no plowing, planting or harvest. Joseph explains to his brothers that God sent him to Egypt so that God could use himself, Joseph, to preserve for posterity, a remnant on the earth for Himself. This ‘remnant’ would be the Israelite people. God would provide for His people through this great deliverance, so that there would be many survivors. What a shock it must have been to the brothers to realize Joseph was really alive! Then to hear Joseph reveal that God used all that had happened for their ultimate good, their actual escape from certain death!

45:8

Joseph NOW summarizes the severity of the situation by telling them that God sent him to Egypt; not them. In other words, if they had not sold him into slavery, God would certainly have provided another way for Joseph to be sent to Egypt. Notice that Joseph continues to tell them that God did this and God did that, so they will begin to clearly understand and believe that God is in Control! Joseph reveals that he is as a ‘father’ to Pharaoh and he is the Lord of all his house and Ruler over all the Nation of Egypt. Joseph has now reached the position that he is in total control of Egypt. But… Remember Who is Really in Control! God Almighty, the Creator of the Universe!

45:9-13

Hurry… This command from Joseph underlies the necessity of acting quickly and going back to the land of Canaan and telling Jacob, that his son, Joseph is alive and is now the Ruler of Egypt. That God has put Joseph in that position so that Jacob, and all his family, flocks, herds and all that he has, MUST come to Egypt as quickly as possible, as there are five more years of severe famine coming to all the lands. Joseph tells his brothers to assure Jacob that he, Joseph, at the direction of God, will sustain and provide for all of the them in the land of Goshen, so that Jacob and all his household and ‘all that are yours’ will not die of hunger and starvation. He tells them to tell Jacob to NOT DELAY! Joseph tells them to believe their own eyes and ears; that they see and hear Joseph speaking to them in their own language, and that his own brother Benjamin can see and hear that Joseph is truly their brother. He continues to emphasize that they should tell ‘MY father’ Jacob, that God has given him great glory in Egypt, that he is the Ruler, and that they should hurry and bring ‘MY father’ here to Egypt quickly. We can understand the importance of acting quickly and not delaying!

45:14-15

After presenting the entire dire situation to his brothers, and telling them of the future coming to all the lands of continued famine and starvation, Joseph then turns his attention to his beloved brother Benjamin and holds him tight, weeping on his neck. Benjamin finally realizes it is indeed his long ago lost brother, Joseph, and hugs Joseph and weeps with him. Then Joseph goes to each brother and kisses them and weeps upon each one of them. This would assure them of Joseph’s complete and total forgiveness of their past treatment and unbelief, and would also assure them of his magnificent godly love for all of them. Finally, his brothers are able to find the words to begin speaking with Joseph. Notice that the entire reconciliation is because of the mercy and grace of Joseph, the brothers do nothing to earn or bring about this reconciliation. This reminds us that our reconciliation with God is all done by the mercy and grace of God, through Jesus, we do NOTHING to earn it or bring it about.

45:16

These next few verses truly show us how God IS in TOTAL CONTROL! Remember, the Egyptians considered it an ‘abomination’ to eat with, or associate with, the Hebrew people; as they considered them far inferior to themselves. Yet, when the news was heard in Pharaoh’s house that Joseph’s brothers had come, it well pleased Pharaoh and all his servants! Can we see God’s miraculous hand at work in their minds and attitudes?

45:17-20

It get’s even better! In fact, it becomes quite humorous to hear what Pharaoh tells Joseph.
Pharaoh tells Joseph to have his brothers load up their animals and return to Canaan and get their father and all their household and come back to him. He, Pharaoh, will personally give them the best land of Egypt and they can live on the fat of the land. Command them to take wagons loaded with provisions, from the land of Egypt for their little ones, their wives and all they have, and bring them, and their father, to Egypt. He goes on to say that they should not look with regret or concern upon the goods they must leave behind for all the best of the land of Egypt will be theirs! Can you clearly see the Holy Spirit directing and inspiring Pharaoh to ‘command’ Joseph to tell his brothers of all ‘his’ unbelievable generosity? We know that the Egyptians, on their own, would NEVER have even wanted these Hebrew people in their land, much less offered to give them ‘the best of all the land!” When we realize the dynamics of this incredible miracle, it becomes both amazing and quite amusing. We can see Romans 8:28 at work here: “all things work together for good to them that love God.” Yes, God IS in Control!

45:21-22

The brothers waste no time in loading up the wagons that Joseph gives them, at the order of Pharaoh, himself. In addition, Joseph gives them changes of clothing, so that they will be well dressed for the return trip. Yet to Benjamin he gives 300 pieces of silver and five changes of clothing. His brothers show absolutely no jealousy or any indication that they object to the generosity offered to Benjamin. It appears that they have indeed learned how to be humble and accept the Will of God. Why would Joseph continue to lavish five times as much of everything on Benjamin?

45:23-24

Joseph sends the ten donkeys loaded with all the provisions and goods for his father, so that they will have plenty of nourishing food for the return trip to Egypt. As he sends his brothers back to Canaan he gently reminds them that they are not to quarrel, or even disagree, on their trip back to their father.

45:25-28

They leave Egypt and arrive in Canaan, and immediately tell Jacob that his son Joseph is still alive! They tell their father that Joseph is now the Governor over all the land of Egypt. Jacob is so shocked that his heart fails and he faints at this unbelievable news. As they revive him, they continue to tell him all the words of Joseph and when Jacob sees all the wagons, provisions and their fine clothing, he is revived. Israel then says that it is enough, he will go to see his son Joseph before he dies. We cannot imagine the shock and joy Israel must have experienced as this miraculous news was given to him. How he must have longed to go to see his beloved son, Joseph!

Ever have God give you an unexpected miracle? God is still in the miracle business, longing to bless us as we yield ourselves to Him in obedience. God used this famine to bring His people, the Israelites, to Egypt, to keep them together in the land of Goshen. They will not intermarry with the Egyptians, so they will remain a unique people, eventually becoming the Nation of Israel. This ‘isolation’ from other peoples in the middle east is used by God to create His special people. We often fail to understand the plan of God to keep His people separate, and to cause them to be ‘unique’ on the face of the earth. Remember, when Jesus returns the second time, the Jews will still be His unique chosen people. Are you obeying God’s direction and Will for your life? God wants you to be His Unique and Special Child, but to accomplish this, you must always obey His Word and Will for your life.