This week we’re going to read one of my favorite parts of this story; a hidden gem, a prophetic reference to Jesus right in the middle of a story about change. It’s exciting, lets jump back in at…
Genesis 45 NKJV
26And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed down before him to the earth.
God can cause our enemies to bow (yield in our modern day) and be at peace with you. That’s what we should ultimately pursue in life. While we may want to fix things with angry words or a baseball bat, God often has others plans.
Proverbs 16:7
When a man’s ways delight the Lord, He brings harmony even among his foes, turning their hearts to peacefulness.
Then Joseph asks about “their father,” if he was alive and well. The brothers answer and bow. Joseph sees Benjamin, leaves to cry, washes himself, and returns for lunch. 33And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth; and the men looked in astonishment at one another.
“According to his birthright,” interesting remark. We can clearly see why Joseph jumping line for birthright was devastating to all the older brothers. We have to realize Rueben and Simeon have to be at least in their early 50s by this time.
34Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamin’s serving was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him.
I always wondered if Benjamin was also in the house with Jacob and Joseph; and not involved in selling Joseph. How he treats Benjamin seems to reflect nothing but love.
Genesis 44 NKJV
1And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack. 2Also put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his grain money.” …they leave… “Get up, follow the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? 5Is not this the one from which my lord drinks, and with which he indeed practices divination? You have done evil in so doing.’ ”
Joseph is pretending to be some type of important Egyptian by claiming to practice divination. He’s putting a show on to keep Benjamin with him. Is that the best idea? Probably not, but we have to remember these men didn’t have regenerated spirits, they didn’t have any written teachings, or many examples set before them. We understand the dangers of pretending, because we’re alive after Christ came to Earth. We also have to remember the scripture that Christ came to heal the brokenhearted, and that was Joseph! While he may have forgiven them, he still had terrible scars in his heart of rejection, abandonment, and only God knows what else.
6So he overtook them, .. and the steward did as Joseph said. The brothers answered, … 9With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my lord’s slaves.” …he checked each of them… and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13Then they tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey and returned to the city. 14So Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, and he was still there; and they fell before him on the ground.
Now Judah is going to step up, that’s why he’s named.
15And Joseph said to them, “What deed is this you have done? Did you not know that such a man as I can certainly practice divination?”
Still pretending to be Egyptian, and they still can’t see he looks like them!
16Then Judah … takes responsibility and presents them to Joseph to honor their word to be slaves. 18Then Judah came near to him (Joseph) and said: “O my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s hearing, and do not let your anger burn against your servant; for you are even like Pharaoh. Judah goes on to recap the story and drama about their father and then claims their father will die if Benjamin doesn’t return home. Judah continues, 33“Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers. 34For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me, lest perhaps I see the evil that would come upon my father?”
What Judah is saying right here is very prophetic and he doesn’t even know it. Blame and shame was on Benjamin, and he was about to be punished, but Judah, the tribe that Jesus would be born from, steps up and says, “I WILL TAKE HIS PLACE.” I will take that punishment for him, lay it on me. That’s what Jesus did for us! So how do we activate this prophetic shadow picture in our lives today. If you’re not innocent, ask to be cleansed in the blood of Jesus. Now that you’re innocent, let the Lion of The Tribe of Praise (Judah means praise) take your place by PRAISING and worshiping HIM. Amen! That was one of my favorite parts of the story! Always exciting to read!!
Genesis 45 NKJV
1Then 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. 2And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it.
Judah messed up the first time with Joseph, and now Joseph sees that Judah wasn’t going to mess up the second time with Benjamin.
3Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph; does my father still live?”
They already told him yes multiple times before that their father was alive, but Joseph probably didn’t know if he should believe them or not. Another subtle clue as to why Joseph put them in prison and gave them a difficult time; to make sure they were just as changed as he was.
(3)But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. 4And 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.
The oh-no moment! They probably revisited their actions like it was yesterday.
5But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.
Just because Joseph said this, people believe this entire situation was actually God’s perfect plan. Emphatically, no! It was a turn-around plan from God. These words are a testament of Joseph’s transformation.
6For 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. 7And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Yes, and to spoil the Egyptians along with the entire non-God-fearing middle east! How exciting!!
8So 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.
Again, just because Joseph said this, doesn’t mean it was God’s Master Plan all along. We have Joseph acting like a spoiled arrogant tattletale and angry murderous brothers. Joseph paved a bad path for himself. What God really did was rescue Joseph from being murdered either at that moment or another day by separating him and sending him to Egypt. He may also have stopped the brothers’ murders as well. What would have happened if Judah’s plan worked; he brought the spoiled tattletale back to his father? Jacob would have been furious! The resulting fight would have destroyed the entire family. Jacob may have exiled or even murdered the brothers; including Judah which was the line already chosen for Christ to be born, and Levi which was the priestly line for Moses, Aaron, and John the Baptist.
Joseph tells his brothers to hurry home, tell their father what has become of him, and then hurry back to Goshen with everything they own so he can provide for them during the last 5 years of famine. The rest of this chapter is about his brothers taking instructions and going back to tell their father.
What we can learn from this part of the Joseph story is that when we mess up, God can make another pathway to get us back on track to His plan and His blessing. Is it as pretty as the one He laid out? No, but God is always making a way and trying to work things out for us.
Jeremiah 29:11 KJV
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
This is one of many scriptures about God making a way. The only way we can ensure failure is to do nothing or give up. If you’re in a Joseph situation be of good cheer, God has a way to get you back on that path, even if you lost family over the situation.
The fastest way to get back on that path is to be honest with the Lord about what’s happened. Often times I have found, when I’ve been mistreated, I’ve been instructed to change. Of course that made me feel angry that He didn’t plan on raining down fire on my enemy, but The Lord had better plans for me. Don’t be surprised, even when a situation isn’t your fault, that you may be met with a change you need to make. The change isn’t for the other person, but only so God can bring you up to a higher place in Christ and pour out a better blessing on your life. Never resist His correction, because there is always a blessing.
Thank you for joining me again for this study. Next week will be the last week of The Joseph Experience, but we’ll finally get to see exactly why the brothers weren’t chosen to be head of the family. Spoiler alert, it had nothing to do with Joseph.
Lord, if we have veered off the path of the blessing, please reveal it to us and show us exactly what must be changed so that we can get back on track to the Promised Land. Give us Your comfort and peace that we know You’re for us, not against us; and are cheering us on. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Christi
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