God’s Great Deliverance
Gen
45:1-47:11
Key verse
45:7
Introduction:
God created seven years of abundance for the entire land. After this, God also
created seven years of famine. Through
these seven years of severe famine, God mandated for or forced all men godly compliance.
That compliance was to go to Joseph, the most powerful man of the Kingdom Egypt
to get life sustenance, the grain. There was no choice but to go and to see
Joseph because nowhere in the world was food except Egypt.
God created
this not to destroy but to save his chosen people. Judah was one of the 10 half-brothers
of Joseph. He was instrumental in saving Joseph’s life from murderous threat of
his brothers but he became the primary agent to sell Joseph as a slave to
Median merchants. Judah repented and his genuine repentance broke down the
barrier between Joseph and his brothers. At the same time this earned the
saving of the entire family. Today we will come to know what it means to be
part of this salvation.
I am your brother Joseph (1-15)
In the last
passage we learned that Joseph told ten of his brothers that Benjamin must
remain as hostage because he stole the cup of Joseph. Judah came forward and
made a plea on behalf of Benjamin. Finally he said this:
44:33
"Now then, please let your servant
remain here as my lord's slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return
with his brothers. 34 How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me?
No! Do not let me see the misery that
would come on my father."
As soon as Joseph heard this, he could not
control himself and cried out ‘have everyone leave my presence’ and then he
wept so loudly. It was so loud that entire palace heard his voice. His emotion
was built up so much to the extent that he could not control himself any more.
Why did he hold his emotion? Why did he not reveal himself till now? Or what
quickened his spirit to reveal himself at this time?
Joseph had few such emotional moments before as he was dealing with his
brothers.
At their first
visit, Joseph told them that he was going to hold one of them as hostage until
they bring Benjamin back to prove their innocence. These brothers took this as God's punishment
and said this:
42:21 They said to one another, "Surely we are being punished because of
our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life,
but we would not listen; that's why this distress has come on us." (Gen
42:21 NIV)
Here his brothers expressed their regret and sorry for their wrongs. When Joseph
heard this, he could not control his emotion and turned away from them and wept
for a while and after weeping he put his composure and came back to them and
took Simeon as hostage. (42:24) He did not relinquish his charge against their
sin.
The second
time was when he saw his brother Benjamin. He was deeply moved and hurried out
and looked for a place to weep.(43:30) It
was a moment of his love and compassion for his brother. Yet he did not
overrule his spirit that demanded justice over the wrongs that they committed.
As his final push for these brothers, he intentionally put his personal cup
in Benjamin’s sack. In this way Joseph incriminated Benjamin as the one who
stole his silver cup. At this time,
Judah made a serious remark. It was words of repentance. .
Genesis 44:16 "What can we say to my lord?" Judah replied.
"What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants' guilt. We are now my lord's slaves
--we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup." (Gen 44:16 NIV)
Despite of his open admittance of his sin before God, Joseph was unwilling
to forgive them. He rejected Judah’s idea to hold them all as his hostage. He
said that he would take only Benjamin, the one who stole his personal silver
cup. Benjamin was the one who committed crime. He had to pay. Joseph was still
cool and was unwilling to relinquish his charge against their guilt. There was
no other choice for them but to leave Benjamin behind the bar. At this
juncture, Judah said this:
Genesis 44:33 "Now then, please let your servant remain here as my
lord's slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. 34
How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see
the misery that would come on my father." (Gen 44:33 NIV)
At this moment Joseph unveiled his identity to his brothers. How was this
moment different from the previous ones? What did he see that he did not see in
previous occasions?
What held down his urge to reveal himself or to charge them for their wrong?
Why did Joseph did not directly charged them or directly punish them?
Instead, by holding Benjamin as
hostage, he tested their willingness to protect their half-brother as their
own. If they would, then it would be considered as their repentance for the
sins that they committed to him. In other word, Joseph wanted to see if there was
a genuine willingness to give their
lives in protection for their half-brother Benjamin. What does it mean?
Repentance is not just regret or feeling sorry. It may make a beginning but it
is not enough. There must be a willingness
to pay the full price of their sin; In the depth of repentance is a keen
understanding that their sin is before God and their sin must be paid in full
by their life.
Judah decided to pay for his sin and sins of all of his brothers by life.
He would be in prison for life because Benjamin violated the most powerful man
of the land. Yet, in his repentance, and in his love for his father, and his
brother Benjamin, he decided to give his life.
This was what Joseph saw and his heart was quickened to unload all the
burdens of guilt from his brothers and was ready to embrace with open arms of
love.
What can we say about this kind of love? We feel that truth sometime cannot
go along with love and love cannot take truth as it is, particularly in regard
to sin matters. This is the love in truth. Love and truth seem to make an odd
combination. But Joseph loved his brothers and held on the truth of God as
well.
1 Corinthians
13:6 reads “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”
Jesus labored through his sufferings and through his death on the cross so
as to bear new life in us. Joseph's unceasing love for his brothers led them to
repentance. This is godly love and the love in truth.
Do you love anyone in God? What kind of love is yours? Joseph’s love was
love in truth. Judah is the symbol of repentance in truth. But also he is the
symbol of life giving love; love for Benjamin, love for his brothers. It is
likely that Simeon was most forceful in his attempt to murder Joseph. Judah was
the one who suggested not to kill Joseph. None of those brothers who forced the
idea of killing came forward and dared to bear their sins. But Judah, though he
might be the least one to be blamed , came forward and took in charge of the
sins committed. God wanted to see such repentance by life and life-giving love.
God blessed Judah because of such faith and courage. His clan became the
biggest among all of his brothers and out of his clan came the Savior Jesus. Actually
when one repents of his sins, his heart is filled with God’s grace and life-giving
love. This is what Jesus’ cross speaks to us. Jesus suffered and died for our
sins on the cross. He took upon himself all the sins of us so that we might be
forgiven. When we accept Jesus, not only our sins are forgiven but also our
heart is filled with life-giving love. This makes a new beginning for these
brothers. What new beginning was waiting for them?
What
did the repentance bring them?
·
It brought the barriers down between man and man and
unifies people. (2-4a)
4 Then Joseph
said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done so, he
said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!
The moment
when they came to know that it was Joseph whom they almost murdered, they were
terrified.
Brother's sin
made a heavy barrier between them and Joseph. Through repentance, Joseph
accepted them and welcomed them with love.
Hate and spirit of murder severed their relationship. But these were
melted away, and the walls of hate and distrust were replaced with love, the
life-giving love. Do you have anyone that you cannot talk freely or feel some
barrier? Look into it what it is. When I did something wrong to my wife
Rebekah, our communication broke down. When I sin before God, and do not
repent, I have hard time to pray to him. Sin must not sit in any corners of our
heart. It builds up a barrier between two people and between God and men.
·
Offered a full forgiveness(4b -5) and acceptance to God's
family.
5 And now, do
not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here,
because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.#
At the first encounter with Joseph face to face, they were terrified;
because they faced the one that they almost murdered. Vivid memories of their
struggle to hold him down to a dry cistern came to their mind. They could not forget
Joseph’s struggle and plea for life. Now he became the most powerful man in the
country. He had the absolute power over their lives. If Joseph wanted to
revenge as they deserved, then Joseph could do anything, including putting them
in jail and even execute them.
While they were gripped in this terror, Joseph offered full forgiveness and
embraced them with love. This love was expressed in his word of comfort; “do
not be distressed and do not be angry with your selves.” At the end of this
meeting he kissed them all one by one. Joseph showed genuine care for their
distressed feeling over their past sin. It might be that Simeon might be the worst
offender of this crime. But he kissed him as well. It means a great comfort for
each of them.
·
Upon repentance, Joseph reveals God’s plan;
At this time
these brothers did not know anything about God's plan or will. Their only concern was their survival
through the famine and what they faced in regard to their past sin. They were struggle with these two, not knowing
anything about Joseph, God's great plan of salvation for them. They were
hidden. But the moment Judah repented of his sin, Joseph fully revealed what
God was doing.
6 For two
years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there
will be no plowing and reaping. 7 But
God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save
your lives by a great deliverance. #
They came to
know fully what was happening. It was by
God that all happened. There will be five more years of famine and it was God’s
will with clear purpose. But till now they had no concern about God and his
will. They wanted to make their life easy and pleasurable as much as possible. As
they faced such hardship as severe famine, they were forced to see Joseph.
As long as we
walk in pursuit of our desires out of our sinful mind, our mind and spirit are
bogged down by these two things; survival and how we can handle problems caused
by sins, either mine or someone else's. It is almost impossible to go beyond
this 'personal perspective'
Joseph was different from the
beginning. God gave
him a dream and imparted his plan for the world in Joseph’s life. So, he feared
God and saw God's vision from young age. So he lived godly fear with God's perspective throughout his life. So he
could overcome all hardships of life because his eyes were not on his own
survival or his own sin but on God's will, his righteousness and his plan.
Like this,
most likely for the first time in their lives, these brothers came to sense
God’s protection and love in their lives. “God is living and doing something
for them!” It was a great discovery and
comfort in such a dire condition.
What about
you? As long as we live for what to eat and how to live, our primary fight or
struggle is the immediate survival as we has seen in these brothers. Joseph's
life is a clear contrast to these brothers'.
What was God's perspective? (5b-8)
because it
was to save lives that God sent me ahead
of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the
next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for
you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8
"So then, it was not you who sent
me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire
household and ruler of all Egypt.
First, they came to know that there would
be five more years of famine. Famine threatens human lives. But it was God’s
plan with clear purpose. What was the reason? Does it have anything to do with
sin? Possible! Does it have anything to do with God’s wrath for sinfulness of
men? Yes, Possible! Why did God send seven years of abundance then? God is
indicating that God has control over all human lives. It is he who sustains
lives of all human races. If he does not give we do not have. Human races must know that it is God who
sustains all lives. It is God’s saying that all men must seek him and know that
their lives are on God’s hand.
Second, It was not them that sent Joseph to
Egypt but it was God. It was they that sold Joseph as a slave to median merchants.
But God used even such evil scheme to fulfill his purpose. In his perfect will
and purpose, God sent Joseph ahead of
them. Why? It was to
save them from this famine. Famine was so severe that it even threatened
the very survival of their lives.
Have you experienced
starvation? How would it be like that there was only one day supply of food and
they could not find any food anywhere?
Some will surely question why is God doing this for us? Why does God let
us suffer even to the point of death? Unless they see the real threat of their
lives, they do not know the full extent of God's provision and full meaning of
God's salvation.
As we know
they were forced to come to Egypt for survival. God created this mandate by the
famine. In this mandate they had no choice but to face Joseph, the one
righteous and godly. God created this encounter so that they might face their
sins as well as their predicament, threat to life by famine. God not only gave them famine but also made
a provision to escape that famine. It was through one man Joseph, whom he
prepared in advance so that God’s chosen people may be saved. Salvation is possible only by God’s
provision! No other way!
Third :7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth
and to save your lives by a great
deliverance.
In this way
God brought salvation for these brothers physically and spiritually though the
hand of Joseph. As a whole it was God’s grace that they were saved. They were to be the remnants of the world.
This was God’s ultimate purpose for them.
For the first
time in their lives, these brothers came
to feel God's mighty hand in all these. At the same time they for the first
time came to know God's great plan for them and for their family. It was all to
make them to be children of God, holy and acceptable.
What is your perspective of your life
now? How can I
succeed in this world with all my ability and my weaknesses or handicaps? How
can I succeed big by weaving through all human schemes of this world? Are these
the compelling thought in your mind? Then we are not different from these ten
brothers. In pursuit of our goal, we are blinded from God’s great plan. If we
pursue this goal, we may not see God’s great plan for us to be remnant of this
world. We may not be able to see the salvation that God provided in Christ.
Jesus
described succinctly in this way:
31 So do not worry,
saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
32 For the pagans run after all
these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
The moment we repent of our sins, our eyes are open to see God's
perspective on our lives. It is eternal perspective. It is seeing God's world and God's work and
God's plan and God's desire. Unless we see these, we will always be bogged down
by one thing, how we will live well and how can we succeed and how we can be
better off? These are the things that these brother were struggling for. Who
were they like?
But when we see God's will, God's plan, God heart for us, we will not
bogged down by these demands. We live by faith and we endure and we rejoice in
seeing God's great deliverance. We are
to live like Joseph!
Jacob goes to Egypt
(45:25-47:10)
This second
part is about Jacob the father of Joseph and his 11 brothers. He was the heir
that God promised to bless. But his children were like any other children of
the world. Ten half-brothers ganged up on one brother Joseph and almost killed
him. This devastated their father Jacob. But by God’s grace through Joseph,
they became one in godliness, having God’s hope in their lives. What does this
mean to their father Jacob? We will find this through the rest of the passage.
As Joseph finished
his introduction and welcome, he instructed them what to do. In vv9-14 Joseph
urged his brothers to go back quickly and bring all of their families including
their father Jacob. In vv16-24 , Pharaoh
offered the best for Joseph's family; the best land of Egypt and the best
provision for their lives.
So the brothers
left for Canaan with these; many carts that Pharaoh gave them, each of them new
clothing. Ten donkey loaded with the best things of Egypt and ten female donkey
loaded with grain and bread and many other provisions.
·
Jacob's
sacrifice at Beersheba
When Jacob
heard that Joseph was alive and had become the powerful man in Egypt he could
not believe. As far as Jacob was concern, Joseph was dead as he saw the blood
stained ornate garment. It is hard to change
this belief unless he saw something concrete. When he saw all the things sent
by King Pharaoh. He saw many fancy carts, many donkeys with loads of goods and
provisions. All of his sons wore new
clothes. Benjamin had five sets of luxurious clothes with three hundreds of
silver. Only Joseph, his brother would do such thing. ,When he saw all these, 28 And Israel said, "I'm convinced! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see
him before I die."
So he called
all of his children together to go to Egypt. It was all 67 men. Most likely the
entire families might be well over 200 people if we include women and children.
This was a big event. It was big not only in the fact that the entire family
was moving but also in the sense that this was the land Jacob lived for his
life. He father did live here and his grandfather moved here because God
promised to give this land to his descendants. It concerns about God’s promise
to give this land to Jacob’s descendants. So, as he set out a journey to Egypt,
he stopped at Beersheba and there he offered sacrifice to God, the God who
appeared to his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac in this place. At
least he felt that he must give thanks to him for Joseph’s survival and sought
God’s will in this matter; As he sought God’s will, God appeared again and said
this;
2 And God spoke to Israel in a vision
at night and said, "Jacob! Jacob!" "Here I am," he replied.
3 "I am God, the God of your father," he said. "Do
not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation
there. 4 I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring
you back again. And Joseph's own hand will close your eyes."
God assured
him that He would go down with him to Egypt. He will bring him back and He will
make him into a great nation there. God even told him that Joseph was there for
him and he would be at his side as he breathes his last. In this way God
assured him of his care and protection.
After a long
journey, Jacob and all of his children arrive at the land of Goshen in Egypt.
There Joseph was eagerly waiting for his father. As soon as they saw each
other;
29 Joseph had his chariot made ready and
went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as Joseph appeared before
him, he threw his arms around his father1
and wept for a long time. 30 Israel said to Joseph, "Now I am ready to die, since I have seen for myself that you are still
alive." (Gen 46)
Since Jacob saw the blood stained Joseph’s clothes, Jacob’s mind was
overwhelmed by darkness. What was that
darkness like?
·
Genesis 37:34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and
mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and daughters came to
comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. "No," he said, "I
will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave." So his father
wept for him.
·
Genesis 42:38 But Jacob said, "My son will not go down there with
you; his brother is dead and he is the only
one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will
bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow."
·
Genesis 43:14 And may God Almighty grant you mercy before
the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you.
As for me, if I am bereaved, I am
bereaved."
As we noted
here, that darkness was nothing less than death; death overwhelmed his spirit
and his mind. This had been going on for many, many years, more than 20 years!
During this time many thoughts and
questions had gone through his mind. “Why would God do such things? God
have forgotten us? Is God still with us? Why did God bring me such tragedy? Is
he punishing me for my sins?” All these questions and burdens of sin could not
be unloaded.
But as soon
as he was convinced of Joseph's life, he was revived in his spirit. He was
ready to die without any reservation or regret. This means his spirit was fully
quenched. Why? It might be simply a return of a dead son to life. But it was
far more than simply dead to life experience.
Joseph was a
special son in whom he had true love and genuine hope because of his godliness
and because he came to know that God was with him. In some sense, Joseph might
have been the only hope among all of his children as far as God’s blessing was
concerned. But Joseph was dead and Jacob did not see any other hope in and
among the rest of his children. He saw that his family was full of all kinds of
sin; jealousy, envy and hatred and even murderous desires. In this regard he
was so much disappointed in the death of Joseph and his spirit was as good as
dead. In this way hopelessness, he lived almost 20 years. Now in seeing Joseph
face to face, that hope revived. Also Joseph's success meant that God was with
Joseph as well as God was with Jacob and his family. Returning of Joseph was an assurance of God
being with Jacob. So, Jacob needed
nothing more. His hope and his dream as God's blessing was fully met and
fulfilled. The power of death has no bearing on his spirit at all. He was so
old and fragile and could die in any moment. But God’s vision and hope welled
up out of his heart. Death had no bearing on his mind at all!
It was sins
of his children that almost killed Joseph the hope of the family. But God
turned it into the salvation of the entire family. Here is God's utmost wisdom. It was deeply
rooted in God's love despite of so egregious sins of his family. It was God's will to fulfill his promise to
make Abraham and his descendant as his own no matter how weak and sinful they
were.
As Jacob saw
Joseph, all these panoramic pictures of God's will and plan was lightened up in
his mind. God is God of salvation. Jacob saw this as he saw Joseph's face.
Joseph is the proof visible and tangible evidence of God's grace and mercy. This change in his perspective is seen in his
meeting with King Pharaoh:
9 And Jacob
said to Pharaoh, "The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My
years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the
pilgrimage of my fathers." 10 Then Jacob blessed1 Pharaoh and went out
from his presence.
He saw that
his life was few and difficult one in comparing to his ancestors; Abraham and
Isaac; his life was not as long as theirs, whom God blessed richly and lived
long. Also his life was fraught with difficulties. This he might be referring to
his young ages when struggled to prosper in his uncle Laban’s house. But more
so about last 22 years after disappearance of Joseph, living in the shadow of
darkness. This was most troubling time for his life. What was he saying? He
meant that though he lived in such difficult life God has led his family and
kept his blessing for his life.
And he
blessed Pharaoh there. Seeing God was
with him and his family, seeing God making him and his family as the source of
salvation, Jacob blessed Pharaoh. In this way he recognize the fact that God’s
blessing are coming upon this king and kingdom through Jacob and his
family. As the result they might not
perish but survive.
Where
is such tangible proof or evidence for us that God is the God of salvation? It
is Jesus' suffering. It is Jesus death on the cross for sinners like us, It is
his resurrection from the dead. In this is God’s vision for each of us. Let see
this great plan of salvation and rejoice in God’s vision for us.
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