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1 Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, "Make everyone go out from me!" So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it. 3 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph; does my father still live?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. 4 And Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come near to me." So they came near. Then he said: "I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life." ~ Genesis 45:1-5
Today, we transition into Genesis 45 where the main doctrine taught through the life of Joseph, among many others, is unfolding. You will remember that forgiveness involves three steps: the injury, the debt incurred by the injury and the cancellation of the debt. Once we have traveled through these three steps we have given birth to forgiveness and the one who benefits the most is the one who hosts the forgiveness.
For Joseph, the injury took place way back in Genesis 37 when his brothers stripped him of his robe, shoved him into a pit and sold him into slavery. The debt incurred by that injury was the 13 years that Joseph was separated from his dad and his home. The third part to forgiveness as seen through Joseph's story will be revealed today and it is the cancellation of the debt. When we hold onto to feelings of hate and bitterness that came through the ill-treatment of others exacted upon us, we are then being unwise to be defined by them. Letting go of hate and bitterness frees us to enjoy the life the Lord Jesus died to give us.
Joseph's forgiveness of his brother's pictures for us God's forgiveness of sinners. The people of Israel today make up about one percent of one percent of the population of the world. They are an insignificant number in comparison to the multitudes of people on the earth right now. And of them, the vast majority are not forgiven their sin and are not therefore right with God. When God intercepted the life of Abraham so many years before, He gave to him a set of promises, some of which have yet to be fulfilled. The immutability of God would be compromised should the remaining promises go unmet. This will be the point of both the Tribulation and the Millennium that are yet to come.
In v.1-2 of today's passage we read, "1 Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, 'Make everyone go out from me!' So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it."
In the previous chapter, Judah, picturing the Jewish people, made an impassioned plea for his brother Benjamin. He offered himself in exchange for Benjamin because he knew that without him, his own father would die in the anguish of his soul. After hearing Judah's words and seeing that there was truly a change in all of the brothers, Joseph could no longer keep himself from tears so he commanded all but his brothers to leave the room. He did this so that he could cover his brothers' sin. It was also his opportunity to reveal himself to them. Only those who have come to the end of themselves qualify for salvation. It was then that Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers and in doing so he extended forgiveness to them.
Joseph’s weeping was so loud it was heard by those in the house of Pharaoh. Joseph’s journey from betrayal to forgiveness is a testament to the transformative power of the grace of God. Sold into slavery by his own brothers, Joseph rose to power in Egypt, only to be faced with the very siblings who had wronged him 22 years earlier. Despite the pain and suffering that he endured, Joseph chose to extend forgiveness to his brothers instead of exacting revenge upon them. It has been said, "To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you."
In v.3 of today's passage we read, "Then Joseph said to his brothers, 'I am Joseph; does my father still live?' But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence."
Joseph's brothers were absolutely blown away when Joseph revealed himself to them. They were so stunned they were speechless. Until this point, they only knew him as Zaphnath Paaneah which means the Savior of the World. The yielded life of the believer in Christ will automatically point others to the Lord Jesus. Amazingly, the more we yield to the Lord the more we will discover meaning, purpose and truth.
Joseph followed his revealing with a question. He asked, "...does my father still live?" Desiring to lessen their shock in the moment, Joseph asked his brothers about the well being of their dad. The brothers were literally shocked in that moment and they literally could not speak. Giving into hatred became the poison that Joseph’s brothers drank while plotting to put him out of their family. They demonstrated the sinful qualities of disrespect, jealousy, deception, greed, and a lack of genuine love that led them to desire Joseph dead. This explains why they could not speak in that moment. Their sin had ushered them into a state of stupor and they were frozen before the brother they betrayed.
In v.4 of today's passage we read, "And Joseph said to his brothers, 'Please come near to me.' So they came near. Then he said: 'I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.'"
Joseph personified forgiveness with the words, "Please come near to me." Then he explained the sovereignty of God by making it clear to his brothers that if he had not ended up in Egypt, he would not have been in the unique position to help them in the midst of the seven-year famine. Joseph would not have been in that position if he had held onto a grudge towards his brothers. When we walk in the flesh we will miss the leading of the Spirit. Joseph knew that it was the God of the Bible who orchestrated the events to come about as they did. And, since he was careful to be defined by God and His culture, Joseph rolled with the punches and adapted to life as God chose to give it to him. Joseph was being defined by the vertical rather than the horizontal.
When Joseph asked his brothers to come near to him, he pictured yet again the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus said similar words when He said, "Come unto Me all who are weak and heavy ladened and I will give you rest." Joseph could have never said those words to his brothers if he were not right with his God. That meant that he had to have forgiven his brothers long before this moment. To the degree that we understand God's forgiveness of us will be the degree that we will choose to forgive others.
In v.5 of today's passage we read, "But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life."
Joseph had a big view of God and since his God was so big, he had big faith. When he told his brothers, "do not be grieved or angry with yourselves," he communicated that he had recognized that his brothers had gotten to the place to do serious business regarding confessing and repenting of the sin that they exacted upon him. Then, Joseph reminded his brothers that God had sent him before them. It is reassuring to know that evil will never overcome God and His purposes. This brings true rest to our souls no matter how difficult the circumstances.
The divine favor that Joseph enjoyed both as a slave and a prisoner was even more clearly confirmed by the supernatural dreams given first by God to Pharaoh's baker and butler, and then to Pharaoh himself. It would have been obvious to anyone that not only did these dreams accurately predict the future, they also paved the way for Joseph's rise to such favor and power in Egypt. Having a sovereign view of God leads us to the place that we transcend in such a way that we are not defined by anything in this world. This is the place of true security when we are being defined by the God of the Bible.
