Ge. 45: They Make Themselves Known

So Joseph gets all antsy-in-his-pantsy and can't bear to wait another second longer to tell his brothers who he is. He throws out all non-Hebrews and starts weeping, so loud that the Egyptians heard him. (I think that's where we get that expression..."Man, his car stereo was so loud the Egyptians heard it.")

Then Joseph busts out, "I am Joseph! Is my father still living?" It had been over twenty years by this point. If I were to put myself in, say, Asher's shoes at this point, I'd be like..."how does he know about Joseph?" And once I realized he was serious, I'd pee my pants with fear. There's no telling what this weeping lunatic is going to do.

Then, in convincing his brothers who he is, he reveals an amazing work of the LORD. This is too wonderful. Not just what God did, but how Joseph realizes it. I hope you'll read it. I just love how the NKJV delivers it:

"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. For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt."

Can you believe that? Deliverance! Preservation! The dreams. The attitude. The selling. The prison. The place of honor. God was there, guiding all of that. God put that all together. In a coming time of need, God put in place a plan to preserve the family of Jacob. Years in advance. Everything that happened had meaning, and was a piece of a puzzle. God moved a nation to save a family. God had Joseph sold by his brothers for a reason. Had him become the servant of a high-ranking official for a reason. Falsely accused by Mrs. Potiphar for a reason. Imprisoned for a reason. Able to interpret the dreams of servants of the king for a reason. All these horrible things, God put together for something amazing.

Joseph realizes that it was God who did this. At the height of amazing power and position, Joseph didn't forget who put him there. Joseph tells his brothers to go home and tell his father what he has told them, and bring him back quickly.

Joseph even tells the Pharaoh what's going on, and the Pharaoh is pleased, and makes it so that Joseph's brothers have all the luxuries and gifts and provisions Egypt can offer for their journey back to Canaan. He gives Benjamin all this extra silver (on the sly or out in the open, I'm not really sure...doesn't say) and then promptly tells them not to quarrel on the way.

So they get back home, and they tell Jacob about what Joseph had told them, and that he is the ruler of Egypt. I had to laugh, because I pictured how I thought Jacob must have reacted. He was stunned. Probably thought they were messing with him. He thought his favorite son was long dead. Can you imagine the joy when Jacob saw all the loot they brought back from Egypt? Not superficially, in that..."Yay, I have all this stuff." No. "My son is alive." The NIV says Jacob's spirit was revived at that point. Now he was excited to go see his son.

Next time, on benchescleared:

The journey back.